English, Theatre and Performance BA

Course overview

This distinctive, flexible and varied degree combines the study of English literature with workshop-based practical theatre work, allowing you to explore performance from both creative and critical perspectives.

You’ll study literatures in English from the medieval to the contemporary period, exploring richly diverse literary texts across different genres, including fiction, poetry and drama. You’ll be equipped with the knowledge and skills to understand literature in the context of a variety of historical periods, places and cultures. Reading and understanding literature can help us to find out about ourselves and see the world from other perspectives. Through engaging with different kinds of texts from across the globe and from different periods of history, you can learn how language reflects and shapes human experience. Literature modules explore themes relevant to how we live today, including race and ethnicity, gender, climate change and nature, social class, disability, and wellbeing.

You will also develop your skills as an artist-researcher through practical workshops led by our own theatre specialists. With compulsory and specialist optional modules spanning theatre, performance, applied theatre, design, digital performance, directing, musical theatre, event management, acting and collaborative practice, you’ll be able to follow a broad range of interests suited to your own academic and professional development.

Throughout your degree, you’ll learn through a combination of seminars, lectures, workshops, practical experimentation and working with both specialist and readily available digital technologies. This degree encourages you to integrate your literary and theatrical interests through a wide range of literature, theatre, and performance options. It provides you with a challenging and rewarding opportunity to combine ambitious, collaborative practical projects with rigorous critical thinking. You’ll develop your skills as a critical reader and a persuasive writer, while reflecting upon the impact that performance has on cultures and societies across the world. You'll become an advocate of the creative arts, developing collaborative, creative, critical thinking and project management skills that will benefit you in a wide range of careers.

Graduates in English and Theatre & Performance have progressed to a wide variety of career destinations, including professional theatre and media, publishing, writing, events management, marketing and business, as well as further academic study.

Entry requirements

A-level: AAB including A in English (Language, Literature or Language and Literature).

Other course specific tests:

Where an applicant is taking the EPQ in a relevant subject this might be considered alongside other Level 3 qualifications and may attract an alternative offer in addition to the standard offer. If you are taking A Levels, this would be ABB at A Level including A in English (Language, Literature, or Language and Literature) and grade A in the EPQ.

International Baccalaureate

Career opportunities

A degree in English, Theatre and Performance equips you with valuable subject knowledge, cultural awareness and an understanding of the performance and cultural industries. It also gives you transferable skills that are particularly attractive to employers. These include leadership, working collaboratively as part of a creative team, presentational and organisational skills, people and resources management, critical analysis, negotiation and conflict resolution, and digital creativity.

During the course of your degree, you’ll develop strong research and analytical skills. You’ll be a confident communicator, who can present and defend your point of view clearly, either verbally or in writing. You’ll be able to collaborate with others or work independently and you’ll understand how your experiences on the course and in co-curricular activities can translate to future employment opportunities.

The cultural and creative industries offer a wide range of opportunities for our graduates who have gone onto pursue a wide variety of careers in many different sectors. These include: writing, performing, directing, production, teaching, events management, digital technologies, arts administration, marketing, media, cultural policy, PR, community arts work and outreach, education and drama therapy.

Many of our graduates progress to postgraduate study and research in related disciplines, including our own wide range of MA degrees. These include: Applied Theatre and Social Change, Performance Design, Writing for Performance and Digital Media, Audiences, Engagement & Participation, Culture, Creativity and Entrepreneurship. You’ll also acquire the skills for professional roles in other sectors, such as human resources, health care, social work, finance, law and business.

Recent graduate job titles include: theatre director (RSC, West-End, Broadway, Regional, Touring), museum interpreter, performer (film, television, theatre), arts administrator, producer, marketing assistant, postgraduate researcher, drama therapist, theatre company director, arts festival assistant producer, teacher, university lecturer, festival co-ordinator, arts outreach worker, recruitment officer, designer, casting agent, disability awareness trainer, corporate relations manager, marketing leadership development graduate, freelance artist and theatre-maker.