BA English Literature and Film & Theatre

The combined subject course in English Literature and Film & Theatre aims to provide a thorough understanding of literature from medieval times to contemporary popular culture, and major areas of cinema and theatre through the 20^th century and into the digital age. In Film & Theatre, you will develop your critical understanding of film and modern theatre as cultural forms, through close analysis of films, plays and theatre performances, informed by contextual study and by critical and theoretical debates.

You will find your studies in English Literature an ideal complement to your work on theatre, film and television. Central to the teaching is the close analysis of films, television texts and theatrical performances. You will regularly attend theatre productions in London and examine theatre texts as staged and will work alongside single honours students through carefully crafted core modules and then choose from a wide range of third-year options.

How we teach you

Study film as film, theatre as staged and television as a distinct visual media – our state-of-the-art studio replicates television industry working practices. Watch films in our high-tech cinema and make regular trips to London theatres to witness cutting-edge performances as well as long-running West End productions. Study cinema from its birth in the late 19^th century to the contemporary period, where film and television are being transformed by new digital technologies. Encounter avant-garde and experimental filmmaking as well as the cinema of classical and contemporary Hollywood (musicals, action films, the work of Alfred Hitchcock, for example) in the Department that pioneered their study in UK higher education. Explore the work of classic European playwrights, 'in-yer-face' and verbatim theatre and get direct experience of one of the world's longest-running theatrical forms with the Department's Japanese Noh stage. You can also study the continually developing forms and narratives of contemporary US and British Television and their relationships to industrial trends, such as digital broadcasting, multi-platform branding and the rise of writer/producers like Paul Abbott, Joss Whedon and Tina Fey.

Get practical experience

You will have many opportunities to get involved in practical work, although this combined degree programme does not involve directing your own play, film or television production as a part of your degree assessment, which distinguishes it from the BA Film & Theatre. Many modules include practical elements, some of which are assessed. Well over 100 plays, films and television works are made in the Department each year, meaning that technicians and actors are always in demand. The Reading University Drama Society (RUDS), the Students' Union radio station and TV channel also offer Reading students opportunities for hands-on, practical experience. The Department's Student Arts Fund is open to all studying with us and has seen combined-honours students undertake filmmaking projects and take theatre productions to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

A range of options

The range of critical options on offer varies from one year to the next. Subjects studied in recent years include: Contemporary Documentary; Chinese Theatre; British Film; Women's Film & Theatre; Physical Theatre; The Director and the Stage; Contemporary World Cinema; Recent American Cinema; Popular Film Genres; Musical Film and Theatre, Japanese Film, Polish Film And Theatre, Film Style and Technology, French Cinema, Contemporary Television Drama, Popular Film Genres (sci-fi and action cinema); Chinese Theatre; Contemporary Television Drama; Polish Film & Theatre; Contemporary Documentary; The Director and the Theatre; Storytelling in Film; Theatre, Performance and Modernism; Independent American Cinema.

There are also optional modules in which you can gain credit for the knowledge you've developed working on a staff research production or through relevant work experience.

• Research Production (optional)
• Work Based Learning in Film, Theatre or Television (optional)

Find out more about this degree programme and how to apply on the Department of English Language and Literature website.

For a full description of this course please download the BA English and Film & Theatre programme specification.