Text and Performance (with RADA)

MA Text and Performance (with RADA)*

Full-Time Programme

What are the contexts, histories, practices and politics of contemporary theatre in London? How can theory and practice relate in the theatre? What is the relationship of text and performance?

This masters degree offers the opportunity for advanced study of theatre, text and performance. Based at Birkbeck, University of London, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - both world-class institutions in the heart of London - this MA brings together performance studies, creative practice, cultural theory and the detailed exploration of the dramatic text to give its students the experience of creating work and the fullest possible understanding of how theatre works now.

We will examine the relationship of contemporary theatre practice to its histories and contexts and explore the challenges of making work in the 21st Century. Through critical practice and historical and theoretical frameworks, we will explore the theatre, in its manifold contexts, histories, politics and practices, at the heart of London.

There is a choice between practice- or theory-centred dissertations at the end of the degree, and the opportunity to attend a wide range of events at Birkbeck and RADA, exposing you to insights from a broad range of artists, critics and scholars.

*Subject to approval.