Applied Theatre

Applied theatre is a form of theatrical practice that takes performance out of conventional venues and into communities, schools, prisons, hospitals, and other social contexts where theatre can serve purposes beyond entertainment. It includes theatre in education, community theatre, theatre for social change, drama therapy-adjacent practice, and work with marginalised or vulnerable groups. The discipline asks not only how theatre is made but why, what it is for, and how it can make a difference to the lives of the people who participate in it, as performers, audience, or collaborators.

This three-year, full-time programme at Birmingham City University focuses on community and educational contexts, developing both the theatrical skills and the critical understanding needed to create theatre that is purposeful, ethical, and responsive to the communities it works with. You will develop practical theatre-making abilities across performance, devising, and facilitation, while also studying the theoretical frameworks that have shaped applied theatre practice and the social and educational contexts in which that practice operates. The course includes a placement year, giving you professional experience in a community, educational, or applied theatre setting before you graduate.

Graduates pursue careers in applied theatre, theatre in education, community arts, arts education, drama facilitation, and therapeutic arts. Many work for theatre companies and arts organisations that specialise in educational or community work, while others build portfolios of freelance practice across multiple contexts. The skills of facilitation, devising, and working with diverse groups are also valued in health and wellbeing settings, youth work, and social care organisations that use creative approaches.

Further study in applied theatre, drama therapy, arts education, or community education is a natural extension for those who wish to develop specialist expertise.