Drama & Theatre Studies/History

Drama and theatre studies combined with history is a pairing that illuminates both subjects through the perspective of the other. Theatre is a historical phenomenon with deep roots, and understanding its development from ancient Greek tragedy through medieval mystery plays, Elizabethan drama, neoclassical theatre, naturalism, modernism and contemporary devised performance requires genuine historical understanding. Conversely, history has long recognised theatre and performance as primary sources, as windows into the values, anxieties, social relations and political culture of past societies.

Studying both together develops a richer and more contextualised understanding of each.

At Aberystwyth University, this three-year full-time programme draws on a drama and theatre studies department with a reputation for practice-based research and an approach to theatre that encompasses both analysis and making. The history department at Aberystwyth has particular strengths in Welsh history, labour history and the history of ideas. The combination gives you access to both practical theatrical skills and historical scholarship in a bilingual Welsh university context.

The typical entry tariff is around 104 UCAS points.

You will engage with theatre history and theory, dramatic literature across periods, performance practice through directing, acting and devising, historical research methods, and the close reading of primary historical sources. The combination encourages you to think about theatre as a historical practice and history as a kind of performance, and to develop the analytical and practical skills of both disciplines.

Graduates of drama and history combined programmes work in education, teaching both subjects at secondary level, in heritage and museum interpretation, in community arts and theatre in education, in arts administration and cultural organisations, and in academic research in theatre or history. Many also work in the broader creative industries, in journalism, broadcasting, public relations, marketing and the civil service, where the communication skills, research abilities and cultural awareness developed through the combination are valued. Postgraduate study in theatre, history, heritage studies or arts management is a natural continuation.