POLITICAL THEATRE - 2025/6

Module Overview

Political Theatre is the fourth of six compulsory modules within the BA (Hons) Theatre. Students will define and examine the nature of politics in both the public and private spheres, and the part that politics play in shaping dramatic writing and theatrical performance. Areas of study may include the influences of Marxism, feminism, post-colonialism, and LGBTQIA+ activism. The coursework essay is the summative assessment and carries a weighting of 100%.

Module provider

Guildford School of Acting

Module Leader

WAGNER Matthew (GSA)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Year long

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative content for the module includes a series of units of study and a reading list which is prepared by the module tutor and delivered via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), Surrey Learn. Political Theatre may include the following indicative topics: Theatre of Debate, Theatre Collectives, Post-Colonial Theatre, Women in Theatre, Queer Theatre. Seminars and tutorials will focus on comparing and contrasting various examples, as well as providing guidance on academic writing skills. Independent learning hours are allocated to allow the student to fully engage with this content.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

Through their summative submission of a coursework essay, in addition to their engagement with formative assessment, the module content, and associated reading,  the students are provided with the opportunity to demonstrate the following:

• Knowledge and comprehension of key theatrical texts and performance conventions.


• Knowledge and comprehension of key theoretical perspectives on theatre and performance.


• The ability to analyse and evaluate the relationships between dramatic texts and their social, historical, and political contexts.


• An awareness an undeerstanding of the global and cultural issues that impact on the nature of theatre and its performance.


• Clear communication in written coursework on a digital platform.


• The formulation and expression of ideas in an objective and responsible manner.


• The ability to synthesise verbal and written feedback on coursework from faculty.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Coursework Essay of 2,500 words in response to a written brief, OR


• Audio recording with transcript of 7 minutes duration.

The formative assessment and feedback consists of:

An outline or plan for the summative assignment. This may include, but is not restricted to:

• A series of PowerPoint or equivalent slides


• A visual or graphic plan such as a mind map


• Spoken commentary recorded as audio or video.

Informal, formative feedback from tutors will be provided by, but is not restricted to:

• Personal tutorials via video call


• Question and answer exchanges via email


• News feed on the VLE.

Ongoing, informal, formative feedback from the tutor may be facilitated by, but is not restricted to discussion Boards on the VLE and email exchanges at the students' request.

Module aims

• Introduce students to a diverse range of relationships between politics and performance.
• Enable students to understand how theatre is shaped by the politics of social and intellectual movements.
• Support students to articulate their ideas in an appropriate written format.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Actively engage the online learner with the key concepts of politics and performance.


• Unfold a structured exploration of a range of political theatre works in the modern and contemporary eras.


• Enable the online learner to investigate the nature of politics in a variety of dramatic / theatrical works.


• Support the online learner to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the key concepts.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Guided Learning in units of study and a reading list delivered via the VLE, Surrey Learn


• Independent Learning allowing the student to fully engage with the content and beyond


• Seminars delivered during intensive study weekends, online or (optionally) on campus


• Tutorials delivered online by the module tutor throughout the study period

GSA delivers its provision across three teaching blocks within the University of Surrey's existing semester structure.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: TDL3016

Other information

Guildford School of Acting trains students, within their chosen fields, to have an understanding and appreciation of Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability, and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow acting students to develop knowledge, skills, and capabilities in the following areas:

Global & Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability

Political Theatre contributes to achieving the educational aims of the programme by promoting student understanding of the contemporary theoretical perspectives at the intersection of theatre and politics, analysing the impact of global and cultural issues on the nature of playwrighting and theatre-making, fostering students' effective communication in a politically charged context, and supporting them to develop their independent voice as a digital citizen.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.