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Overview
Top reasons to study with us
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2nd for Film (Communication and Media Studies)
The Complete University Guide (2025)
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4th for Drama
The Complete University Guide (2025)
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8th for graduate prospects (Drama)
The Complete University Guide (2025)
Lancaster's degree in Film and Theatre, taught by the Lancaster Institute for the Contemporary Arts (LICA) gives you the opportunity to study contemporary theatre performance alongside the history and theory of film.
Film at Lancaster is a stimulating and intellectually engaging course which provides a framework for the close analysis of individual films. You will study cinema history and the social significance of films and will develop a detailed understanding of the techniques of film production. You will also have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study. You can choose from a range of specialist courses and will develop skills that can lead to postgraduate study and careers in the media, advertising and marketing.
Studying Theatre at Lancaster gives you the opportunity to learn about innovative twentieth and twenty first century theatre and performance through an exciting and varied mix of theoretical and practical approaches. You will gain critical and creative skills that open up possibilities for working in theatre, while making you attractive to a wide range of other employers.
You will begin your degree with core courses including an Introduction to Film Studies and an Introduction to Theatre Studies. In your second year you’ll move on to subjects such as Global Cinema, Performance Composition and our LICA interdisciplinary module Critical Reflections.You will then complete your degree by choosing a selection of the Film and Theatre modules we offer such as Advanced Film Theory, Film and Comic Books, Contemporary British Theatre and Applied Theatre Practice.
Excellent facilities, supportive supervisors, and an emphasis on using contemporary performance to create social change. Discover Theatre at Lancaster University.
Film Studies at Lancaster University
Cutting-edge production facilities, a strong theoretical grounding, and a global perspective on film. Hear what Film Studies at Lancaster University could offer to you.
Students at work
You’ll be developing your practical skills in our film production modules by experimenting with narrative films or documentaries. We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content.
Interesting surroundings
Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.
Film production
Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.
Production equipment
We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.
Showcase your films
Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.
Practical experience
You will have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study.
Interesting surroundings
Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.
Film production
Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.
Production equipment
We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.
Showcase your films
Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.
Practical experience
You will have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study.
Interesting surroundings
Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.
Film production
Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.
Production equipment
We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.
Showcase your films
Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.
Practical experience
You will have the opportunity to produce short films in all three years of your study.
Interesting surroundings
Make use of Lancaster’s stunning surroundings for the perfect film setting – cityscape, rural backdrop or coastal charm.
Film production
Gain practical film-making skills and an understanding of film production.
Production equipment
We provide top-of-the-line production equipment so you can create your own original content. Enjoy 24/7 access to our editing suites and specialist equipment, including cinema-ready digital cameras.
Showcase your films
Every year our final year students showcase their films in a major degree show exhibition, that is open to the public.
Careers
A LICA combined degree gives graduates the confidence and capability to produce work for themselves. Our graduates have become professional theatre practitioners including performers, directors, writers, dramaturgs, producers and technicians while others have chosen to work as community artists, arts administrators and managers. Film graduates have gone into TV production roles, independent film production and jobs in advertising, marketing and media production.
The transferable skills gained through studying a LICA combined degree at Lancaster make our graduates extremely attractive to employers within different creative industries, including the media, broadcast and print journalism, public relations, personnel and the Civil Service.
Many of our graduates also go on to further study often becoming academics, lecturers and teachers or further vocational training in theatre or film production, including the prestigious New York Film Academy and London Film School.
Lancaster University is dedicated to ensuring you not only gain a highly reputable degree, but that you also graduate with relevant life and work based skills. We are unique in that every student is eligible to participate in The Lancaster Award which offers you the opportunity to complete key activities such as work experience, employability/career development, campus community and social development. Visit our Employability section for full details.
Entry requirements
These are the typical grades that you will need to study this course. You may need to have qualifications in relevant subjects. In some cases we may also ask you to attend an interview or submit a portfolio. You must also meet our English language requirements.
ABB. Film, Media, Theatre, Drama, Dance or Performing Arts are considered desirable subjects, but we would also welcome an application from you if you can demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
30 Level 3 credits at Distinction plus 15 Level 3 credits at Merit. Film, Media, Theatre, Drama, Dance or Performing Arts are considered desirable subjects, but we would also welcome an application from you if you can demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
We accept the Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales in place of one A level, or equivalent qualification, as long as any subject requirements are met.
DDM, ideally in Performing Arts, but we would also welcome an application from you if you can demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
A level at grade B plus BTEC(s) at DD, or A levels at grade BB plus BTEC at D. Film, Media, Theatre, Drama, Dance or Performing Arts are considered desirable subjects, but we would also welcome an application from you if you can demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
32 points overall with 16 points from the best 3 HL subjects. Theatre, Drama or Performance are considered desirable subjects, but we would also welcome an application from you if you can demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
We are happy to admit applicants on the basis of five Highers, but where we require a specific subject at A level, we will typically require an Advanced Higher in that subject. If you do not meet the grade requirement through Highers alone, we will consider a combination of Highers and Advanced Highers in separate subjects. Please contact the Admissions team for more information.
Distinction overall. We would also expect you to be able to demonstrate experience and interest in practical theatre in your application.
Contact Admissions
If you are thinking of applying to Lancaster and you would like to ask us a question, please complete our enquiry form and one of our team will get back to you.
International foundation programmes
Delivered in partnership with INTO Lancaster University, our one-year tailored foundation pathways are designed to improve your subject knowledge and English language skills to the level required by a range of Lancaster University degrees. Visit the INTO Lancaster University website for more details and a list of eligible degrees you can progress onto.
Contextual admissions
Contextual admissions could help you gain a place at university if you have faced additional challenges during your education which might have impacted your results. Visit our contextual admissions page to find out about how this works and whether you could be eligible.
Course structure
Lancaster University offers a range of programmes, some of which follow a structured study programme, and some which offer the chance for you to devise a more flexible programme to complement your main specialism.
Information contained on the website with respect to modules is correct at the time of publication, and the University will make every reasonable effort to offer modules as advertised. In some cases changes may be necessary and may result in some combinations being unavailable, for example as a result of student feedback, timetabling, Professional Statutory and Regulatory Bodies' (PSRB) requirements, staff changes and new research. Not all optional modules are available every year.
This module will introduce you to a series of historical and theoretical perspectives on drama, theatre and performance. Through lectures and seminar group discussions, you will learn what the key movements have been in performance work, and understand how to apply theories to your own reading and making of contemporary theatre.
This module introduces you to university-level study of the arts, and their contexts and interrelations. In this first block, during the first term, students on the Film, Art, Design, and Theatre programmes will work together in mixed seminar groups to explore the different ways in which creative practitioners respond to the world around them. You will be introduced to key critical concepts used by academics to understand the role of creative work historically and today.
This module is intended to provide you with the essential knowledge and competencies to undertake the academic study of film at university level. The first term provides you with an understanding of the formal and technical composition of films to allow you to undertake detailed analysis of films, from the level of close scrutiny of individual images, and their interrelation with the soundtrack, to the narrative assembly of shots and scenes.
Through the analysis of a range of examples, you will be given the opportunity to become familiar with the key formal and semantic conventions of cinema. The second term aims to provide you with a framework knowledge of world film history. By focusing on a selection of key films and filmmakers, this section of the module will explore historically significant movements and themes within international cinema from the 1960s to the present day.
This term is thematically organized around issues of ideology and realism, and explores the shifting social and political status of cinema during the last century. In the third term you will undertake a practical project, working with a small group to produce a short film.
This practical introduction to drama, theatre and performance will provide you with an introduction to key skills and theoretical concepts that are relevant to the study and production of theatre and performance. The module begins with a review of key historical moments, exploring the function of theatre within society and its continued relevance from ancient times to the present day. Following this we take a closer look at some sample bodies of practice that have sought to empower people politically. We then explore ways of creating spaces through scenography and technical skills, before moving on in the second term to study movement, voice, postdramatic performance, and environmental performance. The module culminates with a group performance project.
Core
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Critical Reflections explores a number of key interdisciplinary philosophical and cultural concepts which will enable you to analyse, engage with, and reflect upon artworks in your own discipline. It also allows you to establish a common set of concepts which can be shared by students from all LICA subjects.
The structure of the module consists of six three-week blocks as follows:
Aesthetics
Experience
Post-structuralism
Marx and Post-Marx
Waves of Feminism
Thinking with the Earth (new materialism)
Regular plenary lectures make connections across the arts, and are supplemented by seminars/workshops which allow students to work in their subject groups (art, film, theatre, design) on ideas and examples specifically tailored towards these disciplines.
This core module has two main objectives. Firstly, it is designed to develop further your analytical skills in order to examine individual films in greater detail. Secondly, it is intended to encourage you to understand world cinema in relation to a variety of social, cultural, political and industrial contexts.
The module will explore such issues as the relationship between film form and modes of production (from industrial film-making through to low-budget art film), theories of film style and aesthetics, and the political function of cinema.
The module consists of two interwoven strands, one strand focusing on various modes of American film production, the other exploring films from a number of different national traditions. Across the whole module, you will gain a thorough grasp not only of the historical factors shaping various national and international cinemas, but also of some key critical and theoretical concepts within the field of film studies.
Optional
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This module combines theoretical and practical approaches to provide an introduction to American and German modern dance pioneers of the twentieth century. It compares their systems of technical training, choreographic methods, signature dance works, and considers the relationship of those systems, methods and works to the social context and philosophical ideas of their time. Assessment is through the choreography and performance of a short trio, and an essay. The module prepares students for more advanced dance and physical theatre projects in later modules.
This practical module provides a comprehensive understanding of compositional strategies and methodologies used in making theatre and performance, whether as a performer or as a director, writer or designer. Particular emphasis will be placed on investigating notions of form and structure and on how performance material can be generated through creative strategies of sourcing, developing and editing material towards a completed work. Assessment is through the production of a performance score and a group practical project.
This module explores different approaches to both the analysis and the production of documentary film. As well as considering a range of styles of documentary film, typically including expository, poetic, observational, reflexive, political, and personal modes of documentary film, you will also examine key debates concerning the ethics of documentary filmmaking. An indicative list of film screenings includes Nanook of the North, Grey Gardens, Dont Look Back [sic], The Arbor, Sans Soleil, Fahrenheit 9/11, The Gleaners and I, and The Act of Killing.
This module will equip students with a critical understanding of twentieth and twenty-first century performance practices that respond to anthropogenic climate change. Students will explore a range of theories and practices relating to ecocriticism and environmentalism.
The module aims to develop an understanding of historically important European films from the 1950s to the 1980s and the stylistic and historical significance of these films. It will explore the thematic importance of these films and consider the critical debates relating to this period of filmmaking enabling students to develop a critical understanding of the conditions of production, reception and distribution of these films.
This module examines a historical genre that now occupies the economic centre of Hollywood film production. The module focuses centrally on film and comic book aesthetics; on questions of narration and visual depiction in these two related media; on the shifting norms of this film genre in relation to technological change across history; and on the significance and uses of the comic-book film in society. The module develops ideas and skills introduced in the core Film Studies modules taken as part of the film studies and combined degrees.
This third-year course will add to the theoretical, historical and cultural aspects of film investigated in Years 1 and 2, while focusing more closely on the challenging aesthetic and critical debates surrounding the concept of modernity. It will look at films made in the silent era, in post-war Europe and in Britain and the US. Writings on film will be considered in conjunction with viewings of particular films, close analysis of specific filmic techniques and methods, and historical and theoretical approaches to film. The course will also pay attention to the debates of classical and contemporary film theory, feminist approaches and other critical traditions (semiotics, structuralism, formalism, cognitivism). Students will be introduced to key debates in classical and contemporary film theory, with topics exploring the relations between film and art, cinema and politics, cinema and psychoanalysis, and, above all, the question of how films produce meaning(s).
In this module students will interrogate and critically respond to discourses of national identity in Britain, with an emphasis on de-centring and questioning who frames British identities and shared histories. By engaging with a range of plays and performances staged in the British Isles between 1980 and the present, alongside key postcolonial theory and readings on nationalism and globalization, students will develop an understanding of the different ways in which theatre has played a part in the national conversation about place and identity.
This module develops analytical and practical skills in performing texts, particularly in dramaturgy and composition and vocal and physical performance techniques. Taking into account the respective political, social and aesthetic contexts from which the works emerged, it focuses on modern and contemporary European play texts that are marked by their formal experimentations associated with two major theoretical paradigms: The Theatre of the Absurd and Postdramatic Theatre.
The module explores the playwrights’ formal experimentations with time and space; plot, story and narration; character, persona and ‘text bearer’; language and breakdown of language; rhythm and musicality; as well as the relationship between performer and audience.
Assessment is by group practical project and an essay.
This module introduces you to community and applied theatre practices that seek to create social, cultural, or political change. You will have the opportunity to explore key theoretical concepts alongside practical skills in facilitation, appropriate to a variety of contexts. You will study examples of applied theatre practice, with an emphasis on techniques that seek to empower marginalised communities and increase political and social dialogue. The syllabus will cover influential practices from around the globe, taking heed of the diversity of approaches and their applicability to contemporary contexts. Core topics may include theatre in education, theatre for development and disability theatre. Assessment is by group practical work and essay.
This practical module is designed to allow you to work collectively to produce an original performance piece informed by material studied in the second year as a whole. Students are supported by a supervisor who will provide feedback on progress throughout the module.
This module introduces practical approaches in visual and image-based theatre and methods of analysing visual theatre and investigating its key histories and models of practice. The module focuses on key approaches to image-based theatre that are central to understanding contemporary visual performance. Each approach interrogates the work of an existing company, which in turn is related to historically important practice from twentieth-century dramatic and/or postdramatic theatre.
The module will practically explore key skills in lighting, sound, digital technologies and scenography with reference to specific practitioners and companies. Assessment of skills and knowledge acquired will be by a practical group project and an essay.
This module will explore the work of some of the most historically important female film-makers from the 1890s through to the present, considering films from around the globe. The module will examine the significant but often marginalized and obscured roles that women have played in industrial, experimental and avant-garde film production across a spectrum of roles from costume and production designers through to screen-writers, editors and directors. You will be invited to reflect upon the fact that, despite playing key roles in the development of the medium, women continue to be excluded at all levels of film production. The decision by Hollywood star and activist Geena Davis to establish a campaigning ‘Institute on Gender in Media’ is a measure of the urgency of this subject.
The module will engage with revisionist film histories concerned with interrogating the dominant bias of academic and popular histories of the medium; it will also draw on feminist film theory concerned both with a critical understanding of mainstream cinema and the development of politicized women’s cinemas. The module will examine a series of female directors and their work, and each week will be oriented around the screening of a case study film that will be the focus for the seminar. An example of directors included is Alice Guy-Blaché, Dorothy Arzner, Leni Riefenstahl, Ida Lupino, Laura Mulvey, Mira Nair, Kathryn Bigelow, Marziyeh Meshkini, Lynne Ramsay.
Assessment is by a combination of coursework essay and exam.
Drawing on tendencies from both visual art and theatrical fields, contemporary performance has generated multiple approaches to the dynamic relation between text, language and performance. Eschewing the conventional dramaturgical structures of literary theatre, ‘text’ in this parallel history is an unruly, generative force – a writing for performance (and writing as performance) that is by turns highly performative, precise, nonsensical, philosophical and playful.
The module aims to explore a variety of contemporary and historical approaches to writing and performance through both key readings and workshop/seminars as well as practical tasks for you as creative writers and performance makers, establishing a conceptual ground, highlighting and developing strategies for your own work.
Core
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This module allows you to undertake a major independent research project on a topic of your choice, presented in the form of a dissertation or a practice-based project and an essay. The module is taught through lectures focused on research skills and one-to-one supervision. Upon completion, you will be able to demonstrate your ability to undertake a major project that includes conducting research, engaging in a sustained critical analysis of relevant texts, building an argument and applying this to practice.
Optional
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In this practical module you will work in groups on an intensive practical project that will lead to public performances. Groups work is supported by the module convener and with a supervisor.
This module centres on the artistically and politically adventurous phase of American filmmaking circa 1967-1979. Typically topics studied include:
Introduction – Hollywood breakdown (Easy Rider, Medium Cool)
The future of allusion: New Hollywood’s nostalgic mode (The Godfather)
Popular feminism (Klute, Woman Under the Influence)
Politics and conspiracy (The Parallax View, All The President’s Men)
Exploitation cinema II: horror/body genres (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)
Blockbuster cinema and the franchise film (Star Wars)
The end of the New (Apocalypse Now)
This module addresses applied performance projects that are co-created in collaboration with community groups. This may include people living within specific geographic areas, but it might also encompass shared identity traits, experiences, or interests. Students will explore a range of practices that facilitate collaboratively-designed theatre as a means of bringing about positive changes within these communities, and their broader social and cultural settings. Through a consideration of contemporary practitioners from a range of global contexts, students will learn techniques to develop effective community-based projects and to ensure equitable participation and accessibility. Practices studied might cover topics such as intergenerational theatre, street theatre, staged readings, puppetry, participatory arts, storytelling, environmental performance and more. Students will engage with the theories and practices of the module through a combination of lectures, seminar discussions and workshops, culminating in a short community performance project.
The module has two aims. Firstly, it aims to explore methods of improvising or choreographing movement from the practice and study of drawing, and, reciprocally, approaches to drawing that emerge from the experience of movement and the analysis of motion. This is assessed through either a staff-supervised, student-led group choreographic project with documentation or, alternatively, a portfolio of drawings presented at the end of the module. Secondly, the module examines twentieth and twenty-first century works in which choreographers have collaborated with visual artists. This part of the module is assessed through an essay. Teaching is through lecture, seminar and practical compositional exercises in movement and drawing.
This module combines theoretical and practical approaches to explore important European writers, directors and companies by studying their innovative dramaturgies, scenographies, uses of ‘no longer dramatic’ text, and new acting/performing styles. These aesthetic forms are also discussed in relation to the performances’ thematic and political concerns with developments such as globalization and late capitalism, increasing mediatisation, (anti-)immigration, terrorism and the war on terror and ecological concerns, as well as with the enduring memories of the Second World War and a European history of colonialism. Teaching is through lecture, seminar and practical workshop and assessment is by practical presentation and by seen examination.
This module explores Hong Kong cinema from the mid-1980s up to the present – an era whose beginning witnesses the international breakthrough of a new wave of local filmmakers, and which goes on to encompass the early 1990s’ production surge, the 1997 handover to mainland China, the crippling economic crisis, and the outbreak of the SARS virus. The module will give you the opportunity to develop an understanding of a number of basic industrial, aesthetic, social and cultural trends marking Hong Kong films in the contemporary era. These include the emergence and impact of independent production; the rise of ‘high-concept’ filmmaking; the movement toward pan-Asian co-productions; the importance and cross-marketing of star performers and local musical traditions such as Cantopop; the popularity of genres like the swordplay film; and aesthetic tendencies such as episodic plotting and the narrative ‘thematisation’ of politics and identity. Emphasis will be placed not only on representative mainstream product, but also on the emergence of a distinct Hong Kong art cinema, whose presence and success on the international festival circuit has brought artistic credibility to a predominantly popular cinema, and which has heralded the arrival of a fresh wave of local ‘auteur’ filmmakers.
This module addresses a range of 21st century performance practices that respond to climate change. Students will be introduced to a variety of practical and philosophical approaches employed by performance makers to address the relationship between people and the natural world.
Performance examples will range from those that seek to prompt direct intervention in the climate crisis to those that facilitate a shifting sense of being in a more-than-human environment. This might include, for example, plays, performance art, dance, performance activism, or socially engaged practices. Specific topics and practical approaches will reflect teaching staff expertise as well as current issues or events.
In the first half of the module students will be guided by staff to develop their own site-specific practical project, drawing on a specific model of practice. Following this, students will expand their critical understanding of relevant case studies and theoretical frameworks in a series of lectures and seminars. Assessment is by practical and essay.
This module provides an opportunity for students to develop an understanding of the ways in which creative practitioners produce and deliver their work. It will provide an overview of the challenges faced by freelance practitioners, producers and small cultural companies within the creative industries. You will also develop a working understanding of the key management and enterprise skills involved in delivering creative projects. Working in groups you will put your learning into practice through the delivery of your own live creative arts project. This will enable you to understand the skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours relevant for employment in the arts and creative industries.
This module offers a broad overview of the history of the musical genre in cinema. It begins by examining the use of sound in silent cinema before focusing on the original success of musicals with the arrival of synchronised sound in 1927. The module then tracks the success of movie musicals from the 1930s-1950s, with particular focus on Hollywood successes of MGM, Busby Berkeley, the Astaire-Rogers cycle and the emergence of the self-reflexive musical. Elements of the Hollywood musical in the 1960s and beyond are then studied, with a focus on the importance of the musical soundtrack in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and other films. The module will also examine other traditions where the Musical has been significant, such as India and France. In addition to this, aspects of race, gender and sexuality in the movie musical will be discussed. Some recent Hollywood successes (such as La La Land [2016] or The Greatest Showman [2017]) are studied towards the end of the module in the light of the Musical tradition
This module combines theoretical and practical approaches to explore new scenographic approaches to contemporary performance. The module is structured to introduce you to the theories and histories of scenography and then progresses to locate scenography through the theatre, through technology and finally in relation to site. The module is focused around four cutting edge contemporary theatre companies (previous examples include The Wooster Group, Need Company, Imitating the Dog) used as paradigms to introduce you to the ways in which text, the body, light, visual/spatial organization, technology and choreography are used as scenographic tools to create specific and unique instances of contemporary performance. Teaching is through lecture, seminar and practical workshop and assessment is by practical workshop and seen exam.
This module offers an introduction to the broad area of silent cinema and to a range of critical approaches to this rich area of study. You will have the opportunity to view and analyse a number of important films. We will also explore a number of critical questions raised by this material with regard to the writing and study of histories of cinema (and popular culture in general). We will examine the relationships between technology and form, the economics of film production, distribution and reception, the relationship between cinema and national identity, the social and cultural impact of new (entertainment) media and the study of cinema audiences.
‘Transgressive Cinema’ is a practice-based module that aims to broaden students’ understanding of film as a form of political enquiry. The module introduces students to critical practices in film, video and expanded cinema that favour process over the end-product. Among the key questions the module addresses are the following: How can film go beyond describing and critiquing the world “as is” and constitute the critique formally? What are the political implications of a film’s formal construction? How do we identify legacies of colonialism in filmic construction and how do we challenge them through creatives devices that transgressive cinema offers? How do we problematise the dominant forms of spectatorship in film practice?
So, while these questions involve rigorous thinking, in practice the module offers a platform where playful experimentations are encouraged. Bringing critical thinking and making into focus, the module invites students to re-examine the dominant aesthetic and narrative conventions of the film/video medium and explore formal elements and their political implications in theory and by practice.
Over the course of this module, students will engage in topics such as: - What is "transgressive cinema" (historically and in recent practices) - Materialist film practices in Britain and the wider European context (1965-1985) - Challenging the perception of language: use of voice, narration, and text as image - Identity politics and video - Queer practices - Performing to camera - Camera-less films - Expanded Cinema - Multiple screens - Abstract film and video. These topics will be explored by students via watching the assigned films, discussing the relevant texts in relation to films and responding to series of practical briefs/tasks to experiment with those ideas.
Fees and funding
Our annual tuition fee is set for a 12-month session, starting in the October of your year of study.
It is likely that you will want to have appropriate clothing for practical classes and, depending on the scale of what you wish to do, there may be costs associated with your performances, such as costumes and props. We may be able to reimburse you for some or all of these expenses. It is also likely that you will want see theatre productions as part of your course both locally and sometimes further afield, and it is usually possible for you to get discounted tickets for these events.
There may be extra costs related to your course for items such as books, stationery, printing, photocopying, binding and general subsistence on trips and visits. Following graduation, you may need to pay a subscription to a professional body for some chosen careers.
Specific additional costs for studying at Lancaster are listed below.
College fees
Lancaster is proud to be one of only a handful of UK universities to have a collegiate system. Every student belongs to a college, and all students pay a small college membership fee which supports the running of college events and activities. Students on some distance-learning courses are not liable to pay a college fee.
For students starting in 2025, the fee is £40 for undergraduates and research students and £15 for students on one-year courses.
Computer equipment and internet access
To support your studies, you will also require access to a computer, along with reliable internet access. You will be able to access a range of software and services from a Windows, Mac, Chromebook or Linux device. For certain degree programmes, you may need a specific device, or we may provide you with a laptop and appropriate software - details of which will be available on relevant programme pages. A dedicated IT support helpdesk is available in the event of any problems.
The University provides limited financial support to assist students who do not have the required IT equipment or broadband support in place.
Study abroad courses
In addition to travel and accommodation costs, while you are studying abroad, you will need to have a passport and, depending on the country, there may be other costs such as travel documents (e.g. VISA or work permit) and any tests and vaccines that are required at the time of travel. Some countries may require proof of funds.
Placement and industry year courses
In addition to possible commuting costs during your placement, you may need to buy clothing that is suitable for your workplace and you may have accommodation costs. Depending on the employer and your job, you may have other costs such as copies of personal documents required by your employer for example.
The fee that you pay will depend on whether you are considered to be a home or international student. Read more about how we assign your fee status.
Home fees are subject to annual review, and may be liable to rise each year in line with UK government policy. International fees (including EU) are reviewed annually and are not fixed for the duration of your studies. Read more about fees in subsequent years.
We will charge tuition fees to Home undergraduate students on full-year study abroad/work placements in line with the maximum amounts permitted by the Department for Education. The current maximum levels are:
Students studying abroad for a year: 15% of the standard tuition fee
Students taking a work placement for a year: 20% of the standard tuition fee
International students on full-year study abroad/work placements will be charged the same percentages as the standard International fee.
Please note that the maximum levels chargeable in future years may be subject to changes in Government policy.
Scholarships and bursaries
You will be automatically considered for our main scholarships and bursaries when you apply, so there's nothing extra that you need to do.
You may be eligible for the following funding opportunities, depending on your fee status:
As a student within LICA, you will have access to a range of state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to catalyse your studies.
Download the course booklet to find out more about Lancaster University, how we teach Drama, Theatre, and Performance and what you'll study as a Drama, Theatre and Performance student.
The information on this site relates primarily to 2025/2026 entry to the University and every effort has been taken to ensure the information is correct at the time of publication.
The University will use all reasonable effort to deliver the courses as described, but the University reserves the right to make changes to advertised courses. In exceptional circumstances that are beyond the University’s reasonable control (Force Majeure Events), we may need to amend the programmes and provision advertised. In this event, the University will take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to your studies. If a course is withdrawn or if there are any fundamental changes to your course, we will give you reasonable notice and you will be entitled to request that you are considered for an alternative course or withdraw your application. You are advised to revisit our website for up-to-date course information before you submit your application.
More information on limits to the University’s liability can be found in our legal information.
Our Students’ Charter
We believe in the importance of a strong and productive partnership between our students and staff. In order to ensure your time at Lancaster is a positive experience we have worked with the Students’ Union to articulate this relationship and the standards to which the University and its students aspire. View our Charter and other policies.
Our historic city is student-friendly and home to a diverse and welcoming community. Beyond the city you'll find a stunning coastline and the picturesque Lake District.