A Level Drama Topics by Exam Board: Full List

A Level Drama – currently offered by AQA (opens in a new tab), Pearson Edexcel (opens in a new tab), OCR (opens in a new tab) and WJEC (Eduqas (opens in a new tab) in England and CBAC (opens in a new tab) in Wales) – is split into two to four topic areas, depending on your exam board. You’ll study specific texts and the work of practitioners for written and practical exams.

This article includes an official and complete breakdown of the topics you need to revise for A Level Drama. We’ve summarised the subject content from all exam boards to show you exactly what you need to know, and how to use topic lists for effective revision.

Key Takeaways

• AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC (Eduqas in England and CBAC in Wales) all offer A Level Drama

• Avoid revising unnecessary content by only looking at your exam board’s specification

• Use topic lists to create a revision plan focused on set texts and practitioners

Why It's Important to Know Your Exam Board

Although subject content often overlaps across exam boards, each exam board has a different syllabus. This means that the same subject can be taught very differently in one exam board compared to another, with varying topics, skills and assessment methods.

Knowing exactly which topics your exam board covers means you can create a focused revision plan. You won't waste time studying content that won't be tested, and you'll know exactly what to expect when it comes to exams.

AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR and WJEC (Eduqas in England and CBAC in Wales) all offer A Level Drama. Check with your teacher if you’re not sure which exam board you’re using.

AQA A Level Drama Topics (7262)

1. Drama and theatre

• Knowledge and understanding, including theatrical processes and practices, conventions, forms and techniques, creative and artistic choices and performance texts

• Set plays: one from List A (e.g. Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing) and one from List B (e.g. Steven Berkoff’s Metamorphosis) – see the specification (opens in a new tab) for the full lists

• Live theatre production: the production team’s aims, the creative collaboration of the performers, designers, director and other members of the creative team, and audience experience and response
  

2. Creating original drama

• Creating devised drama: one prescribed practitioner: the social, cultural and historical context in which they worked/are working, theatrical purpose and practice, artistic intentions, innovative nature of their approach, working methods, theatrical style and use of conventions and collaboration with/influence on other practitioners

• Performing devised drama: practical application of subject content to contribute as a performer, designer or director
  

3. Making theatre

• Practical application of subject content to contribute as a performer, designer or director

• One prescribed practitioner (different to the one you used for creating devised drama, but you’ll study the same aspects)

• Connections between theory and practice in a range of periods, theatrical styles, social, historical and cultural contexts 

• Ways in which theatre makers collaborate

The table below shows what comes up in each component:

Pearson Edexcel A Level Drama Topics (9DR0)

1. Devising

• Practical application of knowledge and understanding, including topic research, dramatic elements, themes, social, cultural and historical contexts, styles, genres and audience impact

• Original performance piece from one key extract from one performance text (e.g. August Wilson’s Fences) and one prescribed practitioner: their methodologies, approaches, theatrical style and/or use of conventions
  

2. Text in performance

• Practical application of knowledge and understanding, including research, contexts, styles, genres and textual understanding

• Monologue or duologue performance/design realisation from one key extract from one performance text

• Group performance/design realisation of one key extract from a different performance text
  

3. Theatre makers in practice

• Written application of relevant knowledge and understanding, including processes and practices used in 21st-century theatre making, participating as an informed audience member, the collaborative relationship between various roles in theatre, creative choices, critical and evaluative judgements, production values and theatrical elements

• Live theatre evaluation: performers, design considerations, the director’s concept/interpretation and chosen performance style, audience impact, use of theatre space and the communication of ideas

• Realisation of a complete performance text: one from List A (e.g. Peter Shaffer’s Equus) – see the specification (opens in a new tab) for the full lists

• Interpretation of one complete performance text, in light of one practitioner for a contemporary audience: a text from List B and a practitioner different to the one in devising

The table below shows what comes up in each component:

OCR A Level Drama Topics (H459)

1. Practitioners in practice

• Practical exploration and research of two practitioners (their methodologies, artistic intentions and purpose of their work) and one extract from a performance text – see the specification (opens in a new tab) for the full lists

• Creation of a devised performance influenced by your exploration and research

• Performance of the final polished devised piece
  

2. Exploring and performing texts

• Study of one performance text (different from the one in practitioners in practice) in its entirety

• Collaborative work to perform part of the performance text
  

3. Analysing performance

• Study of two different performance texts exploring either the theme of conflict (e.g. Shakespeare’s Hamlet), family dynamics (e.g. John Arden’s Live Like Pigs) or heroes and villains (e.g. Nick Dear’s Frankenstein)

• Analysis and evaluation of a live performance, focusing on acting, design and directing
  

4. Deconstructing texts for performance

• Practical exploration of one performance text (e.g. Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) through the role of director 

The table below shows what comes up in each component:

WJEC Eduqas A Level Drama Topics (A690QS)

1. Theatre workshop

• Creation, development and performance of one reinterpretation of an extract from a text, using the techniques and working methods of either an influential theatre practitioner or a recognised theatre company
  

2. Text in action

• Creation, development and performance of one devised piece using the working methods and techniques of a second different influential theatre practitioner or recognised theatre company

• One extract from a text in a different style to the devised performance
  

3. Text in performance

• Exploration of two complete performance texts and one extract from a third contrasting text
  

WJEC CBAC A Level Drama Topics (1690QS)

1. Text in action

• Creation, development and performance of two pieces of theatre: a devised piece using the techniques and working methods of either an influential theatre practitioner or a recognised theatre company, and an extract from a text in a different style chosen by the learner
  

2. Text in performance

• Two different texts (e.g. Laura Wade’s The Watsons and Bethan Marlow’s Nurses) available in English and Welsh
  

The table below shows what comes up in each A2 unit:

How to Use Topic Lists for Revision

Create a revision plan

Print or write out your topics into a checklist. Use the traffic light system (opens in a new tab) to prioritise weaker areas, and tick each area off as you revise. Seeing progress is really motivating, and it stops you from accidentally skipping anything important.

Focus on set texts and practitioners

All exam boards draw on set texts and practitioners, so you should make dedicated revision notes on the ones chosen by your school or college to help you tackle both the written and practical components more easily.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to revise all A Level Drama topics for the exam?

Yes. While you won't need to write about all set texts or practitioners, make sure you thoroughly revise the ones you’ve been set. You also need to revise all areas of knowledge and understanding.

Are these topics the same across all exam boards?

No. Though all exam boards share the same assessment objectives, each board has distinct components, set texts and practitioners. Stick to your exam board’s syllabus to make sure you’re only revising what you need to.

How do I know which topics I struggle with most?

Complete past papers and check how you did against the mark scheme. You can then use the traffic light system to prioritise revising whichever areas you scored the lowest in.

Do all topics come up in every exam paper?

No. Each paper – whether written or practical – will test you on different practitioners, set texts or skills.

Final Thoughts

Using topic lists to structure your A Level Drama revision means you'll know exactly what to study, and how to allocate your time between each area.

Bookmark or print this page, and use it as your roadmap. Work through each topic, tick it off as you go, practise answering past paper questions, and persevere to improve your knowledge and skills for your written and practical exams.

References

• How to Use the Traffic Light System to Improve Your Marks (opens in a new tab)

• AQA A Level Drama (opens in a new tab)

• Pearson Edexcel A Level Drama (opens in a new tab)

• OCR A Level Drama (opens in a new tab)

• WJEC Eduqas A Level Drama (opens in a new tab)

• WJEC CBAC A Level Drama (opens in a new tab)