Curious about studying Drama and Literature (Including Placement Year) - BA (Hons)at University of Essex? We've gathered all the key details—entry requirements, modules, fees, and more. Hear from real students by checking out reviews, or take the next step by booking an open day to explore it for yourself.
Bachelor of Arts (with Honours) - BA (Hons)
University of Essex
Full Time
Oct 2026
4 Year
Study a wide range of dramatic texts, from Ancient Greek times to the present day, and develop an understanding of the principal developments in European Theatre. You can benefit from our Lakeside Theatre, which has been established as a major venue for excellent drama, known for a commitment to new writing for the stage. Not only do many professional touring companies bring their productions of new plays to our Lakeside Theatre but there has been a wealth of new work produced by our own staff and students. An essential element of our Lakeside Theatre’s programme has been the opportunity it gives you to write or direct new plays, as well as re-define classics and re-discover neglected masterpieces. Topics covered in our modules include: - Transforming dramatic texts into dramatic performance - Comedy, tragedy and the development of genre, both in theory and practice - Gender and sexual politics on stage - Writing for theatre - Translating novels for the screen - Writing of the US South Our commitment to the student experience is why we are ranked third for drama in the Guardian University Guide 2021 and top 20 for dance, drama and cinematics in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2021. Our students love us too; we're Top 20 for overall student satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2021.
This is the foundational module for your BA Drama Degree. We enrich your existing knowledge of major theatre practitioners – Aristotle, Brecht, Artaud and Stanislavski – and complement these studies by introducing new theatre theorists, movements and styles. Examine plays from Ancient Greece to today, discussing issues like genre, representation, reception, modernism and postmodernism. This module blends together practical and theoretical classes to create the building blocks for an informed study of theatre practice.
Which writers re-worked Homer’s Odyssey? Or borrowed ideas from Dante’s Inferno? Examine how key literary texts and genres have been used by successive generations of writers up until the present day. Shift from classical text to a more modern example, studying the long cultural traditions that exist.
This interdisciplinary module serves several functions. Firstly, you will develop an understanding of your degree in the context of the wider world and specifically the graduate jobs market. You will come to understand the employability and career-development opportunities that are available to you during and after your time at Essex, and you will begin the life-long process of continuous professional development with a firm grounding in the practical skills and reflective practice involved. The module is divided into two parts: career-development learning; and Speaker Weeks, when a member of staff will interview guest speakers about their careers in fields that are allied to the arts and humanities. These will cover a range of career areas that may be of interest to humanities graduates in general: from media, arts, journalism, education, publishing, to entrepreneurship in related areas. These weeks are intended to be inspiring but also full of practical tips and ideas, with an emphasis on showing how careers develop over time, and what pathways students can explore to get to where they want to be; as well as what kinds of extra-curricular activities students can engage in now to open more doors professionally before and after graduation. In the career-development learning part of the module, you will cover topics such as the Graduate Labour market, the Humanities graduate, self-reflection and personal development, and how to research and apply effectively for jobs. Skills such as CV writing and interview technique will be covered. Two-hour interactive lecture/seminars will introduce students to careers resources and ideas, but will also include discussion and group work.
This course offers students the opportunity to work collaboratively as part of an ensemble to create, rehearse, and realise a practical theatre project. Through guided workshops and rehearsals, students will explore ensemble-based approaches to performance, focusing on shared authorship, collaboration, and collective creativity.
How are Aristotle’s theories about tragedy still useful? How have they been modified or rejected by playwrights since? And can you write a short tragedy? Examine tragedy in theatre, from classic Greek tragedy to now. Understand how playwrights adapt tragic forms and structures to speak more powerfully to their audience.
How can texts be read and interpreted using the thinking of Marx? What about Freud or de Saussure? Or Derrida and Said? Study literature, theatre, and film using these key thinkers. Analyse their approaches both historically and institutionally, and understand the importance of theoretical and methodological material to your studies.
This module will explore concepts and practices of performance and theatre from around the world in order to provide a theoretical underpinning and some practical grounding. It will look at the main traditional forms of theatre in Asia, Africa and Southern America. This module will foster an interdisciplinary approach: it will make clear links with anthropology, cultural studies, history and film studies and will encourage you to make comparisons between practices and ideas through the employ of a variety of material: archive, video and cinematic material, literary texts and play-texts.
This module focuses on three plays and enables a deep understanding of each and the different challenges they offer the actor and the director. Students are asked to negotiate their own creative voices in relation to plays and roles written centuries ago, investigating what it means to perform these plays today.
Placement Year
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