Drama and English Literature [with placement year]

Discover how our societies have shaped and been shaped by English literature, and explore different modes of performance.

Grow into a confident, versatile and exciting drama practitioner, while exploring classic literature and genres ranging from sci-fi to children’s books.

Performance is at the core of our degree. You’ll work on public productions and smaller-scale projects as you explore drama practices and texts from the 20th century onwards – as well as working on your own original pieces.

Our English courses ranked 3rd in the UK for organisation and management in the National Student Survey 2024.

Our Drama courses scored 90% for Teaching on my course and 92% for Freedom of students to express ideas, opinions and beliefs in the National Student Survey 2024.

Develop a deep understanding of literature to improve your interpretation of dramatic texts and your performance skills.

Train in professional-standard facilities including our 260-seater Mumford Theatre.

Perform in public venues around Cambridge as well as on campus.

Graduate with a professional CV, headshots and showreel.

Careers

Our range of career-focused optional modules will help prepare you to work in the arts or other fields, such as teaching.

You might take part in collaborative projects, like our HMS Belfast project with Imperial War Museums to commemorate D-Day, and 60 Second Shakespeare with the Globe theatre, London. You can also experience being part of a professional troupe with our Community Theatre Company.

You’ll graduate with a professionally produced showreel and portfolio.

Our degree will give you practical experience as a performer or technician, and the academic understanding to be a director or a teacher.

You’ll also develop transferable skills such as research, teamwork, communication, problem solving, and resourcefulness – invaluable in all areas of the creative industries and other sectors.

Our students go on field trips and attend productions to broaden their real-world experience. They’ve also taken up placements and live briefs, like our recent one with Great Abington Primary School, devising performances and workshop activities to enhance curriculum learning through interactive drama events.

You might decide to stay at ARU and study for a Masters, like our MA Creative Writing or MA Dramatherapy. Take advantage of our Alumni Scholarship to get 20% off your fees.

Leila Khan landed roles in Netflix’s Heartstopper and BBC’s Death in Paradise while studying drama with us.

Kai Toktassyn has built a successful career as an actor and producer/manager in the Kazakhstan film industry, while David Alade wrote and performed Fox Hunting at ARU, before developing it for a professional three-week run at the Courtyard Theatre, London. He also starred in The Fisherman at Trafalgar Studios, with both plays receiving 4+ star reviews.

Teaching

You’ll get straight into the studio, working in a collaborative performance environment.

You'll learn new skills that will be key to your future as a performer, as well as exploring the history of English literature.

Your second year begins with a major production at Mumford Theatre. You’ll also work on a community theatre project, and spend time with some of the best writing from beyond Britain.

Finally, you’ll complete an individual research project in English Literature or drama, and collaboratively plan and execute our Festival of Performance in Cambridge.

*=optional.

Year 1: Fundamentals for Acting; Researching Performance; Reading Critically, Old English to Enlightenment; Studio Project; Introduction to the Study of Literature and Writing; Into ARU.

Year 2: Nineteenth Century Afterlives and Adaptations; Making Performance; Community Theatre Performance; Ruskin Module; Principles of Dramatherapy*; Physical Theatre*; Science Fiction; Performing Shakespeare*; Practice as Research*; Performing New Writing*; Crocodiles, Pirates and Moon-men: Renaissance Encounters*; Anglia Language Programme*.
Year 3: Placement.
Year 4: Major Project in Drama or English; Festival of Performance; Spectacle and Representation in Renaissance Drama *; Elizabeth Gaskell and the Brontës *; Renaissance Magic *; Site Specific and Immersive Theatre *; Screen Drama Production *; Careers with English *; Literature and Exile: Displacement, Identity, Self *; Romantic Ideals *; Writing and the Present *; New Media Discourse *; Forbidden Stories: Banned Children's Books *; Workshop Facilitation *; Provocations ; Anglia Language Programme.
Modules are subject to change and availability.

You’ll show your progress on the course through a combination of essays, reports, oral presentations, and studio/public performance, as well as a major project involving practice-based research techniques.