As well as developing your acting skills, writing your own performances and staging existing plays, you'll also cover the technical side of the theatre experience – learning how to rig stage lighting, for example.
felt that teaching staff supported their learning well
in the UK for sustained employment and/or further study
First for jobs
The University of Worcester is first in the UK for sustained employment, further study or both, five years after graduation (excluding specialist institutions) - Longitudinal Educational Outcomes Survey 2024. Read more.
Overview
Whether your ambitions are on stage or backstage, this degree course is all about practical work. With modules in acting, technical theatre skills and directed public performance, taught by industry professionals, you’ll have the experience and confidence to kickstart your career in the arts.
From the first year, you’ll work in industry level spaces. These include our own theatre and dance studio, as well as professional theatres in the local area. You’ll also be encouraged to use and perform in unusual spaces too, such as nightclubs, disused churches, festivals, outdoor spaces and gardens. In our Mac suite, which is accessible 24/7, you’ll find all the film editing software you need and theatre specific programs such as Qlab.
This course has a vibrant and friendly student community. Together you can attend ‘Scratch Nights’ where you try out ideas in front of an encouraging audience, go on trips to see performances in Birmingham and London and have the opportunity join two performance societies: Loco (Musical Theatre Society) and Spotlight (the Theatre Society) which offer weekly social events.
We’ll foster a supportive environment where you can build professional connections and your portfolio. Theoretical concepts are taught through practice and most of your assessments will be public performances. We also frequently hold workshops by award winning theatre companies such as Vamos theatre, Talawa or Rhum and Clay. Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington, who is originally from Worcestershire, has given talks to our students.
Placements
In your third year, you will have the option to complete our work experience module with options to try various theatre-related roles, including stage management, theatre in education, arts marketing and acting.
Our students have attended many successful professional placements including:
- Mask workshops with Vamos Theatre
- Stage management for Malvern Theatres
- Acted for Reaction Theatre Makers
- Supporting youth and community groups
For some students, this module leads to a career with their placement organisation.
Course Content
Each year you will study a mix of mandatory and optional modules. This flexible course lets you explore different subjects and career paths in sports coaching and PE teaching before choosing to specialise in your final year.
Optional modules will run if they receive enough interest. It is not guaranteed that all modules will run every year.
Careers
From working with professional directors to providing industry standard facilities and experiences, we foster an environment where our students feel prepared to pursue a career in the arts, highlighted by the achievements of our alumni.
Our graduates go on to work in theatre, TV, radio and film. They have often set up their own business, for example as touring theatre companies or drama education providers.
Our graduates have also gone on to succeed as:
- Performers
- Stage managers
- Theatre technicians
- Directors
- Theatre producers
- Youth theatre leaders
- Voice actors
- Arts marketers
Teaching
Some of our graduates also decide to become teachers. You can train to teach with a one-year Primary or Secondary PGCE at Worcester.
Course highlights
Teaching and Assessment
Our course has been designed by academics and practitioners to prepare you for a career in the arts. Our teaching has an emphasis on practice, academic skills and developing technical, digital theatre and stage management skills.
Teaching and assessment contents
You are taught through a combination of practical workshops, lectures and seminars. The course aims to teach theory through practice so your practical work is integrated with reference to relevant texts and journals and lectures providing a context for each module.
You will develop your performance skills (using both body and voice), investigate cultural and historical contexts, develop your creative and collaborative skills and consolidate your critical thinking. You will prepare for working professionally in the field through understanding all aspects of theatre from creative inspiration to final production.
In addition, meetings with personal academic tutors are scheduled on at least 4 occasions in the first year and three occasions in each of the other years of a course.
You have an opportunity to undertake a work placement module in the third year of the course supervised for agreed projects by a work-based mentor and a University tutor.
Dr Daniel Somerville
Daniel Somerville is an artist practitioner, senior lecturer and practice researcher. His research interests are in the fields of performance, theatre, gender and opera studies, with particular focus on the concept of the ‘operatic’ and how it manifests in terms of movement, performance practice and convention, and how this may be applied to contemporary performance making. As an artist practitioner he has choreographed, directed and performed nationally (including at Edinburgh Fringe, The Place, Chisenhale Dance Space and Duckie in London, and for Birmingham Rep) and internationally (including National Theatre Namibia, Market Theatre - Johannesburg, Liberdade Provisoria - Lisbon and on a tour of the Czech Republic).
Dr Ildikó Rippel
Ildikó is a performer, writer and lecturer. She is co-founder and artistic director of Anglo-German performance company Zoo Indigo, devising autobiographical performance that engages with social and political themes of gender, cultural identity, displacement and migration. Zoo Indigo’s work combines dark humour, song and multimedia in a postmodern and kaleidoscopic approach, producing politically charged performances.
Alison Reeves
Alison Reeves’ main teaching specialisms are Applied Theatre and Theatre in Education.
Her most recent productions are an updated version of Euripides’ The Trojan Women and an adaptation of Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories which toured to local arts venues with invited primary school audiences.
Dr Daniel Somerville
Daniel Somerville is an artist practitioner, senior lecturer and practice researcher. His research interests are in the fields of performance, theatre, gender and opera studies, with particular focus on the concept of the ‘operatic’ and how it manifests in terms of movement, performance practice and convention, and how this may be applied to contemporary performance making. As an artist practitioner he has choreographed, directed and performed nationally (including at Edinburgh Fringe, The Place, Chisenhale Dance Space and Duckie in London, and for Birmingham Rep) and internationally (including National Theatre Namibia, Market Theatre - Johannesburg, Liberdade Provisoria - Lisbon and on a tour of the Czech Republic).
Dr Ildikó Rippel
Ildikó is a performer, writer and lecturer. She is co-founder and artistic director of Anglo-German performance company Zoo Indigo, devising autobiographical performance that engages with social and political themes of gender, cultural identity, displacement and migration. Zoo Indigo’s work combines dark humour, song and multimedia in a postmodern and kaleidoscopic approach, producing politically charged performances.
Student case studies
Some recent graduates reflect on their time on the course.
Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith achieved First Class Honours in his Drama and Performance degree.
“It was the best three years of my life and it is fantastic that the hard work paid off,” said the 21-year-old, from Milton Keynes.
“For many years I have wanted to become a secondary school teacher - as I have a real passion for education and inspiring young people. That is certainly something I will look to go into in the future.”
Al Linforth
Al, from Swansea, joined the University of Worcester in 2018 following a difficult journey through the education system. “I didn’t think I would get into university,” Al said. “But I applied and was accepted by Worcester. In my second week I visited the disability and dyslexia team and took a dyslexia test. During those early weeks I was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. Everything finally made sense as to why I found school and college so difficult, and I was finally able to receive the right support to help me study.”
Al has graduated with First Class Honours. “I couldn’t have done this without the staff on the Drama and Performance degree, who were extremely accommodating and supportive during my time here,” Al said.
Laura Kane - Loving Life In La La Land
Many aspiring actors grow up dreaming of the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. From Sunset Strip to the Santa Monica Pier and the Griffith Observatory, the landmarks of Los Angeles are immortalised in our minds by the movies, mapping out a land full of adventure and possibility.
But dreams can come true, and for University of Worcester graduate Laura Kane, Hollywood Boulevard and Venice Beach are no longer the names of exotic locations thousands of miles away, but rather a new home where she is building a successful career as an actor.
Jordan Smith
Jordan Smith achieved First Class Honours in his Drama and Performance degree.
“It was the best three years of my life and it is fantastic that the hard work paid off,” said the 21-year-old, from Milton Keynes.
“For many years I have wanted to become a secondary school teacher - as I have a real passion for education and inspiring young people. That is certainly something I will look to go into in the future.”
Al Linforth
Al, from Swansea, joined the University of Worcester in 2018 following a difficult journey through the education system. “I didn’t think I would get into university,” Al said. “But I applied and was accepted by Worcester. In my second week I visited the disability and dyslexia team and took a dyslexia test. During those early weeks I was diagnosed with dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADHD. Everything finally made sense as to why I found school and college so difficult, and I was finally able to receive the right support to help me study.”
Al has graduated with First Class Honours. “I couldn’t have done this without the staff on the Drama and Performance degree, who were extremely accommodating and supportive during my time here,” Al said.
Entry requirements
UCAS tariff points required: 112
| Qualification | Grade |
|---|---|
| A-level | BBC |
| BTEC National Extended Diploma | DMM |
| T-level | Merit |
We do accept Access to HE Diplomas and other qualifications which may not exactly match the combinations above. Work out your estimated points with the UCAS tariff calculator.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about entry requirements, please call our Admissions Office on 01905 855111 or email admissions@worc.ac.uk.
Fees
Fees contents
UK and EU students
The Government has announced that it will increase tuition fees and maintenance loans by 3.1% from the 2025/26 academic cycle. Subject to approval, the University intends to increase our tuition fees in line with this and as per our terms and conditions. This means that from September 2025 the standard fee for full-time home and EU undergraduate students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees will be £9,535 per year.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
International students
The standard tuition fee for full-time international students enrolling on BA/BSc/LLB degrees and FdA/FdSc degrees in the 2025/26 academic year is £16,700 per year.
For more details on course fees, please visit our course fees page.
How to apply
How to apply contents
Applying through UCAS
UCAS is the central organisation through which applications are processed for full-time undergraduate courses in the UK.
Read our how to apply pages for more information on the application process, or if you’d like to apply for part-time study.
Drama & Performance BA - W400
Contact
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