Drama

Drama is a discipline rooted in the oldest human impulse to give form to experience through performance. Studying it at degree level means engaging with practice and theory together, asking not just how to make theatre but why, what theatre has meant in different cultures and historical periods, and what it can do that other art forms cannot. It is a subject that demands collaboration, critical rigour, physical and vocal presence, and the willingness to take creative risks in front of others.

At The University of Manchester this three-year programme covers a broad range of practices and ideas. You may explore literary adaptation and the relationship between the written text and the stage, performance in public and unconventional spaces, curation and the dramaturgy of a live event, audio design and the sonic dimension of performance, playwriting, directing, and experimental approaches to film and moving image. The course develops your capacity to analyse performance, to contextualise it historically and theoretically, and to make original work that reflects your own artistic intelligence.

You will work alongside other practitioners, learning to give and receive creative feedback and to contribute to collaborative projects as well as developing your own voice.

Drama graduates move into careers across the performing arts, including acting, directing, writing, producing, and stage management, as well as in arts administration, community and applied theatre, education, and the creative industries more broadly. Skills developed through a drama degree, including communication, adaptability, teamwork, and the ability to think on your feet, are valued in many other professional contexts. Many graduates also go on to postgraduate training in performance, directing, playwriting, or applied theatre, or to vocational training at drama schools and specialist conservatoires.