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Semester 1

Contemporary British Drama (ENLI10223)

Course Website

https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/english-literature/undergraduate/current/honours

Subject

English Literature

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

3

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Visiting students must have completed 4 English Literature courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses, and we do not consider civilisation & other interdisciplinary courses, freshman seminars, writing/composition courses or film/cinema/media courses; visiting students who have taken multiple courses in literature in other languages, should have passed at least two courses in English Literature as well. **Please note that this course may incur additional costs to purchase core texts** **Please see Additional Restrictions below**

Course Summary

This module explores a wide range of contemporary British drama, from the 1950s to the present day. We will read a broad spectrum of work, including plays by John Osborne, Shelagh Delaney, Samuel Beckett, Sarah Kane, Tim Crouch, Caryl Churchill, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Liz Lochhead, Jez Butterworth, Kieran Hurley, Anthony Neilson, Ella Hickson, Selina Thompson and Travis Alabanza.

Course Description

This module explores a wide range of contemporary British drama, from the 1950s to the present day. We will read a broad spectrum of work, including plays by John Osborne, Shelagh Delaney, Samuel Beckett, Sarah Kane, Tim Crouch, Caryl Churchill, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Liz Lochhead, Jez Butterworth, Kieran Hurley, Anthony Neilson, Ella Hickson, Selina Thompson and Travis Alabanza. Placing these playwrights and plays in context, we will consider the evolution of specific trends, movements and forms across twentieth- and twenty-first-century drama, including in-yer-face theatre, participatory performance and state-of-the-nation drama. You will be encouraged to consider practical issues of staging and performance, as well as thinking theoretically about questions of representation, style and politics. You will learn to closely analyse theatre playtexts, as well as developing the skills required to analyse specific productions and performances from existing evidence.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

Additional Restrictions

Unless you are nominated on an English Literature exchange agreement, visiting students are only permitted to enrol in one 3rd year English Literature course each, per semester, before the start of the relevant semester’s welcome period – and spaces on each course are limited so cannot be guaranteed for any student. Enrolment in a second course from this group will depend on whether there are still spaces available in the September Welcome Period, and cannot be guaranteed, and students will not be permitted to enrol in three 3rd year English Literature courses in the same semester at any time. It is NOT appropriate for students to contact staff within this subject area to ask for an exception to be made; all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. This is due to the limited number of spaces available in this very popular subject area.

view the timetable and further details for this course