Drama
The Drama Department offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses rooted in performance and its social context. The department is based in its own building, the Reg Bailey, which has two studio spaces as well as seminar rooms.
Undergraduate
The Drama BA(Hons) enables you to explore the practice, history and theory of drama in a range of contexts and settings. You will have the opportunity to work with leading professionals and to be actively involved with productions. Kingston's drama team has good links with the world of theatre and television, and a close association with the town's exciting new theatre, the Rose of Kingston.
Short courses
The department also offers short courses for school groups and teachers, aspiring or experienced theatre practitioners, corporate groups or interested individuals. Whether you're looking to develop specialist skills, pursue drama as an academic subject or as a career, or just enjoy the creativity and fun of a drama workshop, we have something for you.
Postgraduate
The Department's two MAs extend this work to an advanced level in postgraduate study.
Making Plays
The Making Plays: Writing and Devising for the Stage MA is a response to the growing interaction between playwriting and devising and is aimed at theatre makers who want to create cutting-edge performance.
Students on this course have benefitted from specialist sessions led by choreographer director Wendy Houston, critic Lyn Gardner, actress Jane Asher and Rose Theatre artistic director Stephen Unwin.
Classical Theatre
The Classical Theatre MA is a unique course designed for aspiring actors, directors and designers keen to develop their expertise and understanding in a theatre environment. Developed by Sir Peter Hall, the course is taught in the Rose Theatre Studio, Kingston and culminates in a production directed by a professional director at the Rose. Students have featured in the productions of Miss Julie and A Midsummer Night's Dream there.
A number of theatre professionals have been involved with this course, such as:
- Sir Peter Hall - masterclass on Shakespeare's verse
- Leading voice coach Barbara Houseman - two voice masterclasses
- Director Deborah Bruce - Visiting Lecturer
- Actor Alex McSweeney - Visiting Lecturer
Research
Research in Drama is rooted in performance and its social context. It covers carnival, melodrama, devising, black and Asian theatre, theatrical space, historical reconstruction, forms of theatrical performance and acting. With the opening of the Rose of Kingston, a theatre inspired by the Elizabethan Rose Theatre, the department will have a brand new facility and focus for its practical research work.
Sir Peter Hall is Director Emeritus of the Rose and Stephen Unwin is Artistic Director.
