Theatre Studies
The following modules are available to incoming Study Abroad
students interested in Theatre Studies.
Alternatively you may return to the complete list of Study Abroad
Subject Areas.
CREW210: Writing for the stage
- Terms Taught: Michaelmas Term only - Please note, this module is currently full for the 24/25 academic year.
- US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
- Pre-requisites: We expect students who wish to take this module to have done some form of creative writing previously.
Course Description
Course Outline: The module aims to enable students to write for the theatre and develop their awareness of the processes by which a written script makes its way to performance. Students will be taught through weekly seminars/creative writing workshops in which they will explore the effects that different staging approaches and performance strategies have on their scripts. There will be a performance showcase in which students will be actively involved; the showcase will allow students to reflect upon their work in the light of audience feedback. Over the course of the module, they will develop their own writing styles and gain an awareness of the professional requirements of playwriting.
Topics covered will include:
- The role of the playwright
- Creating characters
- Dialogue strategies
- Approaching political issues
- Theatre landscapes
- Structure
Educational Aims
On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
- Show understanding of dramatic structure, language and staging approaches, and apply this knowledge to their own playwriting
Outline Syllabus
Recommended texts
- Ayckbourn, A., 2002. The Crafty Art of Playmaking. London: Faber and Faber.
- Brook, P., 1968. The Empty Stage. London: Penguin.
- Esslin, M., 1987. The Field of Drama. London: Methuen.
- Grace, F. and Bayley, C., 2016. Playwriting: A Writers' and Artists' Companion. London: Bloomsbury
- Johnstone, K., 1979. Impro: Improvisation and the theatre. London: Faber and Faber.
- Sierz, A., 2011. Rewriting the Nation: British Theatre Today. London: Methuen Drama.
- Wiltshire, K., 2016. Writing for Theatre: Creative and Critical Approaches. London: Palgrave Macmillan
- Yorke, J., 2013. Into the Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them. London: Penguin.
Recommended plays
- Ahmed, N., 2012. Mustafa. London: Nick Hern Books.
- Agbaje, B., 2007. Gone Too Far! London: Methuen Drama.
- Beckett, S., 1956. Waiting for Godot. London: Faber and Faber.
- Churchill, C., 2006. Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? London: Methuen Drama.
- Dimitrijevic, S., 2017. Dr Frankenstein. London: Oberon Books.
- Gupta, T., 2017. Lions and Tigers. London: Oberon Books.
- Kane, S., 2011. Blasted. London: Methuen Drama.
- Kene, A., 2017. Good Dog. London: Nick Hern Books.
- Khan-Din, A., 1997. East is East. London: Nick Hern Books.
- Keatley, C., 1988. My mother said I never should. London: Methuen Drama
- Kushner, T., 2013. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. New York: Theatre Communications Group.
- Nwandu, A., 2019. Pass Over. London: Faber & Faber.
- Prebble, L., 2016. The Effect. London: Methuen.
- Washburn, A., 2014. Mr Burns, a post-electric play. London: Oberon Books.
- Weatherill, B., 2018. Jellyfish. London: Methuen Drama.
- Wertenbaker, T., 1990. Our Country's Good. London: Methuen Drama.
For further information see Tajinder Singh Hayer (Country Main B96)
Assessment Proportions
Assessment: Students will write a play script (approximately 22-25 pages) and a 1500 word essay reflecting on the writing, rehearsal and performance process.
LICA101: Fundamentals: Contemporary Arts and Design
- Terms Taught:
- Michaelmas Term Only
- Full Year Only (you must also take the appropriate LICA102 module)
NOTE: For the Full Year option, the student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre or Art (Design is not available in this instance) - US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 8 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites:
- No Pre-requisite
- For the Full Year option, student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre, or Art (Design is not available in this instance)
Course Description
This term introduces students to university-level study of the arts and design, and their contexts and interrelations. In this first block, during the first term, students on the Art, Design, Film and Theatre programmes will work together in mixed seminar groups to explore the different ways in which creative practitioners respond to the world around them, focusing on three significant themes. They will be introduced to the key critical concepts used by academics to write about the creative work produced by practitioners engaging with these themes.
This will be taught through a conventional combination of weekly lectures and seminars. Each lecture will be delivered by two colleagues from different programmes, to provide students with an indication of the variety of approaches that can be taken to each topic.
Educational Aims
- Understanding of how to identify and locate appropriate primary objects of study (for examples films, plays, designed objects or artworks)
- Understanding of how to identify and locate appropriate secondary critical material on art, drama, design and film
- Understanding of the importance of selecting appropriate research and analysis methods for the study of art, drama, design and film at undergraduate level
- Understanding of the medium-specific conventions through which meaning is made and conveyed in art, drama, design or film
- Knowledge and understanding of some key critical and theoretical debates regarding art, drama, design or film
- Understanding of the importance of presenting research findings in a clear and well-supported way, following academic presentational conventions
Outline Syllabus
- Week 1: Introduction: Research in the Arts
Block 1: Primary Sources and Argumentation.
- Week 2 “51福利 seen through Two Primary Sources.”
- Week 3 “The Idea of the University Through the Arts”
- Week 4 “What does an Argument do?”
Block 2: What is A Secondary Source?
- Week 5 “Criticism and The North”
- Week 6 “Critically Revisiting Visions of The UK”
- Week 7 “Writing An Essay 51福利 The West”
Block 3: What Does Creative Research Do Today?
- Week 8 “Creative Research: Using Art to Explore What People are Like Today.”
- Week 9 “Art as Research Environment”
- Week 10 “Artistic Research Doing Things in the World”
Assessment Proportions
LICA102E: Fundamentals: Drama (part 1)
- Terms Taught: Lent/Summer Terms only
- Also Available: For the Full Year option, you will need to take LICA101 module.
- US Credits: 2 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 4 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites:
- No Pre-requisite
- For full year option, student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre or Art (Design is not available in this instance)
- You will not be able to take LICA102, if you have not studied LICA101 in Michaelmas term
- You will be required to take LICA102F
Course Description
This module will cover Histories and Cultures in weeks 1-5:
- Ritual Performance
- Tragedy and Satire
- Postcolonial Theatre
- Postmodern/Postdramatic Theatre
- Intermedial Theatre
Educational Aims
This module aims to develop students’:
- Knowledge of a selection of historically important works within the field of drama, theatre and performance
- Understanding of the historically variable social significance of drama, theatre and performance
- Understanding of a selection of medium-specific conventions through which meaning is made and conveyed in drama, theatre and performance
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant critical and theoretical debates regarding drama, theatre and performance
Assessment Proportions
LICA102F: Fundamentals: Drama (part 2)
- Terms Taught: Lent/Summer Terms only
- Also Available: For the Full Year option, you will need to take LICA101 module.
- US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 8 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites:
- No Pre-requisite
- For full year option, student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre or Art (Design is not available in this instance)
- You will not be able to take LICA102, if you have not studied LICA101 in Michaelmas term
- You will be required to take LICA102E
Course Description
In weeks 16-20: Social and Political Engagements will be covered.
- 16. Feminist Theatre
- 17. Street Performance
- 18. Disability Theatre
- 19. Refugee Theatre
- 20. Black British Drama
- Weeks 21-25: Independent study
Educational Aims
This module aims to develop students’:
- Knowledge of a selection of historically important works within the field of drama, theatre and performance
- Understanding of the historically variable social significance of drama, theatre and performance
- Understanding of a selection of medium-specific conventions through which meaning is made and conveyed in drama, theatre and performance
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant critical and theoretical debates regarding drama, theatre and performance
Assessment Proportions
LICA102G: Fundamentals: Film (part 1)
- Terms Taught:
- Lent / Summer Terms Only
- For the Full Year option, you will need to take LICA101 module
- US Credits: 2 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 4 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites:
- No Pre-requisite
- For full year option, student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre or Art (Design is not available in this instance)
- You will not be able to take LICA102, if you have not studied LICA101 in Michaelmas Term
- You will be required to take LICA102H
Course Description
This module is designed to supplement and enhance the essential knowledge and skills covered in the main module in Film, LICA150, and develops the study skills to which students are introduced in LICA101. It will be taught through lectures, seminars and weekly screenings of case study films.
British Cinema
1. Alfred Hitchcock and silent British cinema - Blackmail (Hitchcock, 1929)
2. Melodrama and war - Brief Encounter (Lean, 1945).
3. Fantasy and artifice - The Red Shoes (Powell and Pressburger, 1948)
4. Film comedy and Ealing studios - The Ladykillers (Mackendrick, 1955)
5. Social commentary and repression - Victim (Dearden, 1961)
Educational Aims
This module aims to develop students’:
- Knowledge of a selection of historically important works, institutions and events within the field of film
- Understanding of the historically variable social significance of film
- Understanding of selected medium-specific conventions through which meaning is made and conveyed in film
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant critical and theoretical debates regarding film
Assessment Proportions
LICA102H: Fundamentals: Film (part 2)
- Terms Taught:
- Lent / Summer Terms Only
- For the Full Year option, you will need to take LICA101 module.
- US Credits: 4 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits: 8 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites:
- No Pre-requisite
- For full year option, student will need to specialise in either Film, Theatre or Art (Design is not available in this instance)
- You will not be able to take LICA102, if you have not studied LICA101 in Michaelmas Term
- You will be required to take LICA102G
Course Description
Weeks 16-20 will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Weeks 21-25 will consist of independent study with tutorial support.
British Cinema
- 16. James Bond and the blockbuster franchise - You Only Live Twice (Gilbert, 1967)
- 17. British crime films - Get Carter (Hodges, 1971)
- 18. Horror and the occult - The Wicker Man (Hardy, 1973)
- 19. Art and politics - Jubilee (Jarman, 1978)
- 20. Asian British cinema - Bhaji on the Beach (Chadha, 1994)
- Weeks 21-25: Independent study
Educational Aims
This module aims to develop students’:
- Knowledge of a selection of historically important works, institutions and events within the field of film
- Understanding of the historically variable social significance of film
- Understanding of selected medium-specific conventions through which meaning is made and conveyed in film
- Knowledge and understanding of relevant critical and theoretical debates regarding film
Assessment Proportions
LICA190: Skills and Concepts in Drama, Theatre and Performance
- Terms Taught:
- Full Year Course
- Michaelmas Term only
- US Credits:
- Full Year - 10 Semester Credits
- Michaelmas Term Only - 5 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits:
- Full Year - 20 ECTS Credits
- Michaelmas Term Only - 10 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites: Tutor's permission needed to take this course.
Course Description
In Michaelmas and Lent terms, students will engage in a series of 3-week study blocks organised around a theme relating to aspects of theatre and performance (these might include, for example, themes of Space, Time, Audience, Text, etc). Through these thematic lenses, students will be introduced to a variety of forms and genres of drama, theatre, and performance in weekly 3-hour lecture/workshop sessions (examples might include dramaturgy, performance art, feminist theatre, disability theatre, etc). They will study an exemplary range of playscripts and performance theories from a variety of historical and cultural contexts, and explore these through practical activities that invite the application of key theoretical concepts. In addition, students will be introduced to lighting, sound, and other foundational practical skills through occasional training sessions incorporated into the regular teaching session. In the latter half of the second term, groups of students will begin to develop their own practical performance projects, which will be assessed in the summer term.
Educational Aims
The course aims to:
- Introduce some of the major theatrical movements that are understood to have affected the contemporary performance scene
- raise issues about the range of approaches to the production, analysis and reception of performance which have developed in theatre and performance at key historical moments
- equip students with a knowledge of different approaches to the analysis and production of performance
- introduce basic practical skills in the analysis and rehearsal of theatre scripts
- introduce basic practical skills in devising performances
- refer to major theatrical theories of performance, and interdisciplinary theories relevant to the analysis of performance
- encourage the vigorous practice of theory and the rigorous theorisation of practice
The general educational aims of this Part I module are to:
- introduce students to critical and historical thinking
- introduce students to basic research skills, both for written and practical work
- introduce students to academic writing and presentation skills, including structuring an argument and referencing sources
- equip students with skills in creative collaborative working
Outline Syllabus
Michaelmas Term:
- Week 1: Introduction to the Course
- Week 2: The Creation of the Modern Subject: Shakespeare's Hamlet
- Week 3: The Gendered Subject: Representations of Hamlet and Ophelia in Hamlet productions
- Week 4: Representing the Human Subject in a Scientific Age: Naturalism and Realism, Chekov's Cherry Orchard
- Week 5: Realist Performance: Stanislavski's approach to actor training
- Week 6: Performing the Socially Constructed Subject: The Aesthetics and Politics of Epic Theatre, Brechts The Good Person of Szechwan
- Week 7: Non-representational Theatre: Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty
- Week 8: The Subject in a Postmodern Context: Heiner Müller's Hamletmachine
- Week 9: Writing the Perfect Essay: Tips and Pointers
- Week 10: The Fragmented Subject in Postdramatic Theatre: Martin Crimps Attempts on her Life
Lent Term:
- Week 11: Modes of Performance in Devised Theatre
- Week 12: Uses of Space in Devised Theatre
- Week 13: Modes of Audience Engagement in Devised Theatre
- Week 14: Devising Dance and Physical Theatre
- Week 15: Media in Devised Theatre
- Week 16: Practical Project explained and groups set up
- Week 17: Groups working on Practical Project with supervisors
- Week 18: Groups working on Practical Project with supervisors
- Week 19: Group Presentations of Performance Concepts with Performed excerpts
- Week 20: Exam Revision, Feedback on Presentations and Production Meetings
Summer Term:
- Week 21: Groups work on Practical Projects, Exam Revision
- Week 22: Groups work on Practical Projects, Exam Revision
- Week 23: Groups work on Practical Projects
- Week 24: Groups work on Practical Projects
- Week 25: Assessed Performances of Practical Projects
Assessment Proportions
- Essay: 20%
- Practical Exam: 30%
- Presentation: 10%
- Written Exam: 40%
LICA200: Critical Reflections in Creative Arts
- Terms Taught:
- Full Year Course
- Michaelmas Term Only
NOTE: If you are studying with us for a Full Academic Year and you select a course that has full year and part year variants, you will not be allowed to take only part of the course. - US Credits:
- Full Year Course - 8 Semester Credits
- Michaelmas Term Only - 4 Semester Credits
- ECTS Credits:
- Full Year Course - 15 ECTS Credits
- Michaelmas Term Only - 7.5 ECTS Credits
- Pre-requisites: Familiarity with twentieth century art history with a good understanding of the major movements and their aims.
Course Description
LICA 200 will explore a number of key interdisciplinary philosophical and cultural concepts which will enable you to analyse, engage with, and reflect upon artworks in your own discipline, and to thus establish a common set of concepts which can be shared by students from all of the different subject disciplines in LICA. These interdisciplinary concepts will be referred to in Part II modules particular to LICA’s different subject domains, but also within the suite of new half-unit modules which can be taken by students from across of all LICA disciplines.
Educational Aims
This module aims to:
- Develop analytical and critical skills in the study of contemporary art and creative works (design objects, buildings, installations, paintings, sculptures; documentaries and films; sound works, scores and musical performances; and dance works, plays and theatre performances) relevant to each students specific subject discipline (Art, Film, Design,Theatre)
- Make students aware of analytical and critical skills specific to other subject disciplines
- Develop appreciation, knowledge and understanding of key theoretical concepts common to the analysis of all contemporary artworks from all artistic disciplines and forms.
Outline Syllabus
This course provides an introduction to critical theory in the arts and its application to aesthetics and art. The structure of the course is six three-week blocks, following an introductory lecture:
- Block 1. Aesthetics and Formalism: The lectures and workshops in this block will look at how we describe and analyse works of art, especially in relation to different art forms, and how different disciplines can learn from each other. Students are also introduced to the main developments in aesthetics, from Plato to Kant and onto various kinds of formalism and contemporary means of analysing artworks.
- Block 2. Phenomenology: The lectures and workshops in this block celebrate and consider the lived experience that artists and audiences have of an artwork, and in particular places bodily experience at the heart of the ways in which artworks attempt to understand the world. The sessions ask: what is the relationship between the viewer or listener who experiences an artwork and the artwork itself? What is the relation between intuition and concept? Is it possible to reflect on the pre-reflective sensations that a listener or viewer has of an artwork as it unfolds through time in the gallery, performance space or concert hall? The sessions test methods by which it is possible to describe how an artwork might distil the essential qualities of its source material, how it is possible to describe the viewers or listeners consciousness of that artwork, and the hidden meanings which are disclosed through both processes of description.
- Block 3. Semiotics, Structuralism and Deconstruction: The lectures and workshops in this block look at the idea of the artwork as a system of signification, using the principles of semiology (i.e. the science of signs). Originally applied to linguistics and anthropology, semiology offers a powerful set of tools with which to understand and engage with works of art in every discipline from the visual arts to music to dance and performance. More recently it has also come to inform the work of practitioners in all fields. No attempt to understand the debates and issues in contemporary arts can take place without a basic grasp of this area.
- Block 4. Class and Society: No attempt to understand contemporary culture and the arts can take place without engaging with the work and influence of Karl Marx. Though originally concerned mainly with questions of economics and politics, Marx's ideas have been employed in powerful ways as means of understanding the relation between art and broader social structures and relations. The lectures and workshops in this block introduce the most relevant concepts of Marxism and looks at some of the ways in which they have been used in relation to the arts in the work of authors such as Louis Althusser and David Harvey.
- Block 5. Feminism, Queer Theory and Gender: Among the more pressing questions asked by theorists in relation to art is how our experience of artworks, whether as producer or consumer, is inflected by gender and sexuality. Some of the most powerful analyses of art have been motivated by such questions. The lectures and workshops in this block will introduce students to the basic concepts underlying those analyses as well as some of the ways they have been mobilised in relation to art and culture.
- Block 6. On Difference: Questions of race and ethnicity, like those of gender and sexuality, have also become a means by which some of the presumptions underlying the arts have been questioned and deconstructed, especially as a reaction to the dominance of white, western cultural ideals. The lectures and workshops in this block engage with some of the principle debates and ideas in this area, especially as they relate to difference, race, and post-colonialism in art and culture.
Assessment Proportions
- Coursework: 50%
- Exam: 50%
LICA290: Theatre Practice
- Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Term Only.
- US Credits: 8 Semester Credits.
- ECTS Credits: 15 ECTS
- Pre-requisites: Students must be majoring in a relevant subject area.
Course Description
The aim of this course is for students to work collectively (i.e. in manageably-sized groups) so as to produce a performance piece, which, while original, will nevertheless relate to material covered in the second year as a whole. Students will be supported by a supervisor, allocated by the course convenor, who will provide critical comments on the process. Supervision will usually be fifteen hours per project. The length of the piece will vary according to group numbers and the art form and genre of performance.
Educational Aims
The module enables students to work collectively (i.e. in manageably-sized groups) on a high-quality production project which, while original, must relate to practices and theories covered on other second year modules. The production can be of a play or can be devised, and can be in any media (e.g. an installation, art event, or film are all acceptable). Under the guidance of the module convenor, students are divided into project groups of around 6 students, and each project group is supported by one supervisor, allocated by the course convenor, who will provide critical feedback and guidance intermittently throughout the process. Supervision will usually be for a total of fifteen hours per project. The length of the practical work that is submitted for examination will vary according to group numbers and the art form that is chosen, and must be negotiated with the supervisor and agreed with the module convenor. As a rough guide, a group of six producing a play might aim for a 30 minute performance, a similar size group producing a devised performance might aim for twenty minutes, a group producing a film might aim for 5 minutes.
Students are expected to originate, design, manage, rehearse and produce an original performance. This entails the systematic and sustained development of specific skills (e.g. in movement, voice, lighting, etc.) essential to the project; individual research and experimentation; group collaboration and the designation of specific tasks within the group; the ability to choose, edit, frame and develop suitable material for performance; the ability to negotiate scenic elements of performance (set, lighting, technology, space, costume, etc.); the organization of rehearsals (arranging times and booking spaces); liaising with the module convenor on a number of matters, such as the work-in-progress, dress rehearsals and actual performances; liaising with the supervisor in order to schedule her/his presence at rehearsals; and contacting LICA administrative staff to arrange extra rehearsals, and Live at LICA staff to arrange technical support and the get-in to and get-out from the final performance space (this may be in the Nuffield or elsewhere). The project will culminate in a dress rehearsal, a preview for an invited audience, and, finally, a public performance and a viva voce examination which will be marked by two examiners. During the viva voice each group will be asked to describe their process, evaluate their critical and aesthetic choices, and explain how those choices relate to other second year modules.
Your mark will be the average of a group mark and an individual mark based on your individual contribution to that piece. To determine both marks the examiners will apply explicit assessment criteria and take into consideration the group's statement of intent as expressed in an assessment pro forma submitted immediately before the assessed performance.
Outline Syllabus
- Week 1: Meeting with the Convenor and Group Meetings: Initial Stages
- Week 2: Group Meeting: with Convenor to monitor group formation and the submission of draft pro-formas. Individual groups will then discuss projects with the course Convenor
- Week 3: Individual group sessions: completion and handing in of Project Pro-Forma One; Allocation of Supervisors
- Week 4-5: Work on projects
- Week 6-7: Presentation of Work in Progress 1
- Week 8: Presentation of Work in Progress 2/Dress rehearsals
- Week 9: Performances + viva + handing in (finalized) pro-forma
- Week 10: Feedback meeting
The work-in-progress showings are for your benefit and should be a minimum of 20 mins in the first one and be a version of the complete performance in second one). This usually takes place with supervisors and convenor. While both these presentations are not assessed the work achieved is very important in gauging how the work is progressing and may inform the supervisor's account presented to the examiners.
Assessment Proportions
LICA297: Writing for Performance
- Terms Taught: Lent / Summer Terms only
- US Credits: 4 semester credits
- ECTS Credits: 7.5 ECTS
- Pre-requisites: None
Course Description
Drawing on tendencies from both visual art and theatrical fields, contemporary performance has generated multiple approaches to the dynamic relation between text, language and performance. Eschewing the conventional dramaturgical structures of literary theatre, ‘text’ in this parallel history is an unruly, generative force – a writing for performance (and writing as performance) that is by turns highly performative, precise, nonsensical, philosophical and playful.
The course aims to explore a variety of contemporary and historical approaches to writing and performance through both key readings and workshop/seminars as well as practical tasks for the students as creative writers and performance makers, establishing a conceptual ground, highlighting and developing strategies for the students' own work.
Educational Aims
This course aims:
- To establish a conceptual ground for writing for performance within broader artistic movements form Surrealism to the Postdramatic Theatre
- To explore a variety of important contemporary and historical approaches to writing in relation to performance through key readings and seminars.
- To further explore those important approaches to writing in relation to performance through workshops and individual tasks for the students as creative writers and performance makers, highlighting and developing strategies for the students own work.
Outline Syllabus
(Artists mentioned in each section are examples/indications - in any given year there will be a selection / focus in these areas)
Doing Words: Text / Speech / Language / Performativity
- 2. Streams of Consciousness
Samuel Beckett. James Joyce.
Fluxus, Yoko Ono, Vito Acconci, Tomislav Gotovac.
Donald Barthelme, Forced Entertainment, Andy Field. Jenny Holzer.
- 5. Destroying Language / Nonsense Dada.
Lewis Caroll. Wyndham Lewis.
- 6. Generative Systems / Procedural Writing
Georges Perec. The Oulipo. Walter Abish. John Cage.
- 7. Appropriation / Collage / Uncreative Writing
Kenneth Goldsmith. Kathy Acker. William Burroughs.
- 8. The Contemporary Stage
Sarah Kane, Elfriede Jelinek, Richard Maxwell, Richard Foreman, Tim Crouch, Young Jean Lee, Goat Island.
- 9. Presentation preparation
Assessment Proportions
- Project: 75%
- Reflective Report: 25%
