Drama and English Language

Drama and English Language is a combination that places creative practice and linguistic analysis in productive dialogue. Drama as a university subject goes beyond performing: it encompasses the history and theory of theatre, the study of dramatic texts across cultures and periods, practice in devising and directing, and critical engagement with how performance communicates meaning. English Language, distinct from literature, examines how language actually works, drawing on linguistics to understand grammar, discourse, conversation, and the social and cultural contexts in which language operates.

Together the two disciplines develop your ability to understand and create communication in its most immediate and embodied forms.

At Liverpool Hope University you will study across four years on a full-time programme. The degree includes a foundation year that provides a thorough academic preparation, a sandwich year in a professional environment, a year abroad for international study experience, and work placement activity embedded throughout. Studying drama in Liverpool, a city with a rich and ongoing theatre culture, gives you access to performance contexts and professional networks that enrich what can be learned in the classroom and studio.

You will engage with the origins and history of drama, develop your own artistic practice as a maker and performer, and study linguistic theory and analysis alongside this practical work. The programme encourages you to think about theatre as a form of language and language as a kind of performance, connections that deepen your understanding of both disciplines.

Graduates of drama and English language enter careers in theatre performance, directing, and production, as well as in teaching, where the combination is particularly well suited to secondary school English and drama. Roles in arts administration, community and applied theatre, speech and language support, communications, and media are all common directions. The linguistic analytical skills are also valued in journalism, copywriting, and public relations.

Further study at postgraduate level in drama, linguistics, theatre education, or applied theatre is a natural progression for those who wish to specialise or pursue research and academic careers in the field.