Drama and Theatre Arts

Theatre is one of the oldest art forms humans have practised, and its study at degree level goes far beyond learning to act or direct. Drama and theatre arts asks fundamental questions about how performance works, what it communicates, and why it matters. The discipline combines practical making with rigorous critical thinking, drawing on philosophy, sociology, literary theory, and performance studies to understand theatre as a form of cultural expression that has always been entangled with politics, identity, and community.

At Goldsmiths, this three-year full-time programme reflects the institution's commitment to experimental and politically engaged practice. You will work practically, creating and performing work in a range of forms, but you will also develop strong analytical and research skills, studying theatre history, dramatic theory, and the work of key directors, playwrights, and companies from across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Goldsmiths has a long tradition of critical and conceptual challenge, and the programme reflects that culture, encouraging you to question the assumptions behind theatrical conventions and to develop a distinctive artistic voice.

Graduates from drama and theatre programmes work across a broad range of roles in the arts and beyond. Performing, directing, writing, and producing are obvious directions, but graduates also move into arts administration, community theatre, theatre education, dramaturgy, arts journalism, and cultural policy. Many of the transferable skills the discipline develops, including communication, collaboration, creative problem-solving, and critical analysis, are valued by employers well outside the arts sector.

Postgraduate study in performance, theatre-making, or drama education is a further option for those who wish to deepen their practice or research.