AQA A-Level Drama and Theatre set plays overview quiz quiz

One play only, which is required to be a modern post-1900 work from the list

Two plays, at least one of which must be pre-1900

Three plays, all of which must be from the post-1900 period of the list

Four plays drawn freely from any historical period without restriction

Because plays are always far shorter than novels and need much less close reading

Because novels contain no characters or relationships for a reader to analyse

Because a set play is analysed as a text for performance, considering staging

Because plays do not allow you to use any quotations as supporting evidence

Critic, actor and audience

Author, publisher and reader

Stage manager, producer and usher

Performer, director and designer

The unifying interpretation covering period, style and central idea that guides every choice

The detailed lighting plan on its own, setting the rig, colours and cues for each scene

A clear, detailed summary of the plot that lists out the main events in the exact order they happen on stage

The full list of actors in the cast together with the parts that each of them will play

Only the single year in which the play was first published, with nothing else considered

When and why it was written, the values of its time, and original performance conditions

Only the cast list of the original production, naming the performers in each main role

Only the modern reviews written by critics after recent professional revivals of the play

They should ignore the concept and be impressive on their own

Only the set needs to match the concept

Every design area should express the single coherent concept

Design is not assessed in Section B

The ticket prices charged to the audience for seats at the original first performance

The location and capacity of the theatre's car park used by the audience on the night

The make and model of the printer used to produce copies of the published script

Plot and structure, character, themes, and language and dramatic devices

Because examiners want analysis of how meaning is made, not a summary of events

Because the details of the play's plot are kept secret from candidates before the exam

Because the play's plot is not mentioned anywhere in the official AQA specification

Because retelling the plot of a set text is forbidden by an examination board rule

As one separate opening paragraph that simply lists background facts about the period

Woven in as evidence to justify analysis and staging choices

Left out of the answer entirely, since context is never relevant to a play

Only briefly mentioned once in the final concluding paragraph of the essay

Each of the three perspectives offers a completely separate and unrelated idea

Only the director's view actually matters, and the other two are simply ignored

All three perspectives serve one central concept

The performer, director and designer choices change at random in every scene