Drama: Applied Theatre and Community Performance

Applied theatre and community performance is the branch of drama concerned with theatre-making in non-traditional settings, with communities, with people who may have limited access to mainstream arts provision, and in contexts where the process and impact of making theatre matter as much as or more than the finished performance. It encompasses theatre in education, theatre in health settings, participatory performance with marginalised communities, theatre for conflict resolution and social change, and community arts practice more broadly. The field draws on theatre theory, social work, education, and community development, and it demands both theatrical craft and genuine commitment to the communities and individuals you work with.

At Goldsmiths, which has a distinctive tradition of politically engaged and socially aware practice in the performing and visual arts, you will study applied theatre and community performance over three years of full-time study. The programme combines practical theatre-making skills with theoretical and critical frameworks drawn from performance studies, education, sociology, and political thought. You will make work in community and educational settings alongside your academic study, developing your craft as a theatre-maker and your understanding of what it means to work ethically and effectively with participants who are not professional performers.

Goldsmiths' strong connections with London's arts and voluntary sector organisations provide opportunities for real collaborative projects with communities.

Graduates from applied theatre and community performance programmes enter careers across the arts, education, health, and social care sectors. Theatre education roles, including work with schools as a theatre in education practitioner, are direct applications of the degree. Community arts organisations, arts development bodies, and voluntary sector organisations working with particular communities employ graduates in both practitioner and development roles.

NHS arts in health programmes, prison arts projects, and dementia care settings are contexts where applied theatre practitioners work. Many graduates work freelance, developing a portfolio of projects across different sectors and settings. Postgraduate study in applied theatre, drama education, or related fields is available for those who want to develop their theoretical or practical expertise further.