Theatre and Creative Writing with Placement Year

Theatre and creative writing are disciplines that share a deep commitment to the imagination and to the craft of making meaning through language and performance. Theatre studies examines dramatic texts, performance history and the full range of theatrical forms from ancient tragedy to contemporary experimental performance, developing your understanding of how plays work on stage and in the imagination. Creative writing asks you to develop your own voice as a writer across prose, poetry, drama and other forms, building the discipline, technique and self-awareness that serious creative work requires.

Together they make an unusually rich pairing, with each informing and strengthening the other.

At Brunel University London this programme includes a placement year, which extends the full course to four years full time. The placement year gives you the opportunity to develop professional experience in a creative, cultural or arts-related environment, connecting your academic study to the working practices of the theatre and writing industries. You will study the history and theory of theatre and performance alongside practical creative writing workshops in which you develop your own creative work across multiple forms.

The combination of critical and creative approaches is central to the programme's design.

You will develop skills in close reading and dramatic analysis, the craft of writing across different forms and genres, critical argument and extended research. The capacity to think imaginatively, to collaborate in creative and academic contexts, and to communicate with clarity and precision are transferable skills that serve graduates well across many professional fields.

Graduates from theatre and creative writing programmes pursue careers in writing, editing, publishing, arts administration, theatre-making, cultural education, journalism, script development and community arts. Many also move into careers in communications, public relations and content creation where creative skill and the ability to construct compelling narratives are directly valued. Postgraduate study in creative writing, theatre, performance studies or arts management is also an established route.