By the end of this course, you will have enhanced skills of performance and textual analysis, as well as developing deep critical thinking skills. You will also have gained experience in working and networking with practitioners and subject experts.
Our graduates have started careers in professional theatre, film and television as well as training and education. If you come to the end of the course and find yourself curious about an area of study – or want to take your dissertation topic further – the MA is a perfect grounding for a PhD, which may be fully written or include a practice-based component.
The department gives you access to other creative areas of study like dance, media and art. Part of our reputation as a creative campus comes from this cross-pollination of studies and disciplines, so you'll have a good chance to push into those fields and gain knowledge of literature, theatre and the cultural scene in London and beyond. You'll leave the MA able to navigate an intense and growing field with credibility and creativity.
Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £12,500
EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £24,000
Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course.
How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.
and ** These tuition fees apply to students starting their course on a full-time basis in the academic year 2027/28. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.
Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. For further information, see fees and funding.
* These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2027/28 academic year and are included as a guide. Refers to specific individual items of £50 or more, and excludes accommodation, commuting, food, books/other learning materials and printing costs.
David Bullen Lecturer in Drama & Theatre
This course will give you the chance to combine your passion for literature, theatre, and British culture, and combine them in an interdisciplinary exploration of the arts. Through this course, you will become acquainted with one of the world capitals of culture. You’ll gain knowledge of not only major British cultural institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Royal Court but also fringe organisations and charities, as well as have the chance to meet individual writers, performers, practitioners and representatives of those institutions. You’ll explore the different and diverse relationships between the historical and the contemporary in both literature and theatre, developing critical thinking and analytical skills that you can use in your own arts career – whether that be as a creative writer, a critic, or working for an arts institution. Royal Holloway's Department of Drama, Theatre and Dance is internationally recognised for the quality of its creative arts programmes, and this course is the only UK postgraduate degree of its kind to offer a diverse overview of contemporary British culture with a focus on literature and theatre. We sometimes make changes to our courses to improve your experience. If this happens, we’ll let you know as soon as possible. British Literature, Theatre and Cultures Taught by a team of academics, British Literature, Theatre, Cultures offers a broad interdisciplinary discussion of different cultural forms and institutions and their significance to conceptions of British culture.