Drama

Drama is the study and practice of performance as an art form and a social force. It asks how theatre is made, how it works on audiences, what it reveals about human experience and what it can do in the world. At its best, drama education combines intellectual rigour with creative development, asking students to think deeply about performance while also developing their own practical skills as actors, directors, devisers and makers.

The tension between critical understanding and creative ambition is one of the most productive features of studying drama at degree level.

At Edge Hill University, this part-time programme includes a sandwich year, a work placement and a year abroad, giving you both extended professional experience and an international creative perspective alongside your academic and practical training. The sandwich and placement elements allow you to work in theatre, arts education, community arts, applied drama or related settings, developing professional skills and industry connections. The year abroad broadens your understanding of how performance traditions and theatre cultures vary across countries.

You will study performance practice through workshops, rehearsals and productions, alongside the history, theory and social analysis of theatre and performance. The programme explores the social and political dimensions of drama in the twenty-first century, asking how theatre responds to and shapes public life, and developing your ability to probe these questions in both critical and creative work.

Graduates go on to careers in theatre, arts education, community arts, applied drama, arts administration, directing, writing, youth work, drama therapy and the wider creative industries. Some pursue further professional training or postgraduate study in drama, applied theatre or performance. The creative, collaborative and analytical skills developed through drama are valued across many fields beyond the performing arts.