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There's a good reason why the Artistic Directors of the National Theatre and the Royal Court, plus Britain's foremost living playwright, are all Hull Drama graduates.
Because when you join Hull, you join a close-knit community of like-minded performers, producers, designers, writers, technicians and theatre makers that will help you to realise your full potential.
As one of the oldest Drama departments in the UK, this is a place – and a University – with a strong commitment to the performing arts, where you'll learn the skills to be a well-balanced theatre maker while you develop your talents in a specialism you love.
About this course
As well as exploring the theories behind performance, you learn on the job in ensemble settings and practical projects. We teach you how to be a well-balanced theatre maker, while you develop your talents in a specialism you love. Whether it's as a performer, designer, creative technician, producer, writer or teacher.
You get exclusive access to our Gulbenkian Centre: a purpose-built theatre with studios and workshop areas. Every week, you get the chance to make theatre. From classical to experimental, by way of digital, educational and participatory performance. You also take part in at least two major productions each year. And you form a small theatre company in your final year.
You can tap into our close links with arts organisations, too, like leading theatre companies Hull Truck and Middle Child. And we’ll continue to support your career even after you graduate. Our artist-in-residence opportunities and regular networking events are always open to our alumni.
The final curtain is just the beginning
Module options
Each year, you’ll study modules worth a certain number of credits, and you need 120 credits per year. Most modules are 20 credits – so you’ll study six modules each year. Some longer modules, such as a dissertation, are worth more. In these cases, you’ll study fewer modules - but the number of credits will always add up to 120. Some modules are compulsory, some are optional, so you can build a course that’s right for you.
Filters
Introductory Performance Techniques
Develop practical and theoretical skills in theatre making. You'll work with your peers to create short devised performances, responding to plays from classical, Renaissance and contemporary theatre.
compulsory
20 credits
Production Project
In this module you will be introduced to the processes and expectations of production practice and will have an opportunity to shape your first production to meet consolidate the experience you have gained before coming to University.
compulsory
20 credits
Introductory Production Technique
This module builds your skills in areas of specialism like lighting, sound, stage management, design and scenic construction, wardrobe, and theatre and performance technologies.
compulsory
20 credits
Approaches to Theatre Discourse
What intellectual and conceptual skills do we need to develop to become well rounded creative practitioners? How can discursive modes of enquiry like reading, discussing and presenting to peers inform our understanding of Drama? How might we communicate our ideas to others? In this module you will explore the creative and cultural context of performance by engaging in critical, contextual and historical material.
compulsory
20 credits
Approaches to Theatre Exploration
How do processes of making theatre inform our understanding of Drama? Can we develop the same kinds of insights by doing as we can by reading? Are ‘embodied’ insights qualitatively different, and how might they be communicated? In this module you will explore the creative and cultural context of performance by engaging in processes of production.
compulsory
20 credits
Industry Case Study
In this module you will learn about industry and company structures. You will be introduced to the Arts Council England funding model (on which we base many of our project proposals) and production processes and structures.
compulsory
20 credits
Theatre Practice: Research and Development
How should I plan for a major creative project? In this module you will bring together specialist skills that you have developed in techniques modules with culture making skills that you have looked at in Performance Perspectives modules to propose and plan a production project that you will complete next semester.
compulsory
20 credits
Theatre Practice: Production
In this module you'll work with other students to create a fully resourced production project, in line with the proposal that you developed in the Research and Development module.
compulsory
20 credits
Performance Perspectives: Contexts and Criticism
What intellectual and conceptual skills do we need to develop to become well rounded creative practitioners? What use is context and criticism if you are only interested in making performance? Examine frameworks for understanding performance from a range of perspectives. You'll explore theatre historiography, cultural theory, sociopolitical analysis and aesthetics.
compulsory
20 credits
Our facilities
Our academics
From directing plays to working on virtual theatre resources, our staff are active in the industry.
They bring their passion, energy and experience into everything you learn. And they’ll always encourage you to pursue your own creative ideas and interests.
Dr Cat Fergusson-Baugh
Lecturer / Director of Drama
Cat has been a digital researcher & practitioner at Hull since 2007, specialising in theatre history, XR & digital performance. Cat's work spans Channel 4, Prague Quadrennial and projects from Drury Lane reconstructions to Oculus and binaural audio.
Dr Christian Billing
Reader in Drama (School of the Arts)
Dr. Christian Billing is Reader in Drama and Theatre Practice in the School of the Arts. His recent Eco Arts research has featured in numerous exhibitions, performances, in a BBC radio feature and in other broadcast media.
Entry Requirements
Fees & Funding
How much is it?
Future prospects
Our students go on to work for some of the world’s most prestigious theatres and companies: the Artistic Directors of both the The Royal Court Theatre and the National Theatre are Hull Drama graduates, and our alumni have also gone on to work at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Opera House, the Bouffes du Nord in Paris, and more. Many go into broadcasting for the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky.
100% of our graduates are in work or further study within 15 months of graduating.2
Our alumni are illustrious. James Graham OBE, Olivier Award-winning playwright, graduated from Hull in 2003. His writing credits include This House (National Theatre), Sherwood (BBC One), and Brexit: The Uncivil War (Channel 4). Other Hull graduates include Indhu Rubasingham (Artistic Director of the National Theatre) David Byrne (Artistic Director of the Royal Court), theatre director Marianne Elliott, musical director Martin Lowe, and award-winning sound designer, Paul Arditti.
Become part of the next generation of futuremakers
Like what you've seen? Then it's time to apply.
The standard way is to apply through UCAS. This will give you the chance to showcase your skills qualities and passion for the subject, as well as providing us with your academic qualifications.
Not ready to apply yet?
Visit our next Open Day, and see all that Hull has to offer for yourself. Talk to our lecturers about your subject, find out what university is really like from our current students, and take a tour of our beautiful campus and amazing facilities.
You may also be interested in...
93.3% employability (Drama) UK domicile full-time first degree leavers; Higher Education Graduate Outcomes statistics, for the academic year 2021/22, published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency June 2024.
All modules presented on this course page are subject to availability and this list may change at any time.