Contemporary Theatre and Performance

Contemporary theatre and performance is a discipline that takes seriously the full range of what live performance can be in the twenty-first century, moving well beyond the conventions of text-based drama to encompass physical theatre, devised work, site-specific performance, interdisciplinary practice, digital performance and performance art. It is concerned with performance as a mode of inquiry as much as a form of entertainment, asking what theatre and performance can do, what questions they can raise and what kinds of encounter between performers and audiences are possible when the form itself is treated as open rather than fixed.

This three-year full-time degree at the University of the Arts London includes a sandwich year with a work placement, giving you professional experience in the performance or creative industries sector as part of the programme. You will develop as a creative, confident and articulate storyteller, building physical, vocal and intellectual skills both individually and in an ensemble. The programme prepares you to work across a variety of performance forms and contexts, understanding contemporary theatre and performance as a diverse and constantly evolving field rather than a fixed tradition.

You will develop practical performance skills alongside critical and theoretical understanding of what contemporary practice is and does.

Graduates work across theatre, performance, live art, dance, community arts, arts education, applied theatre, film, television and the broader creative industries. Many develop portfolio careers that combine performance practice with teaching, facilitation, community engagement, producing or arts administration. The applied dimension of contemporary theatre makes graduates well suited to contexts where performance skills are used in social, educational or therapeutic settings.

Further study in theatre, performance studies or applied theatre is a route for those wishing to develop specialist expertise or pursue research and academic practice.