OCR A-Level Drama and Theatre: the live theatre evaluation (Section B), a complete overview

What the live theatre evaluation demands

Section B of the Analysing Performance paper asks you to watch theatre as a maker and a critic: to judge how a production's choices worked on its audience. You see one live production during the course and, in the closed-book exam, analyse and evaluate it. This overview ties together the skills Section B rewards; each has its own dot-point page with practice questions.

The shape of Section B

Section B is worth 30 marks, AO4 (analyse and evaluate) dominant and AO3 (knowledge of how theatre is performed) supporting. The production is a free choice (often made by your centre), not a set production, and you answer entirely from memory. Questions ask you to analyse and evaluate how some aspect, a theme, a relationship, a director's interpretation, was communicated to the audience. The quality of your record of the production determines what you can write, so keep a detailed, structured account of specific moments, performances and design states.

The decisive habit: evaluate, do not describe

The single discriminator in Section B is evaluation. Because students remember the show vividly, the great temptation is to narrate it. But AO4 dominates, so every point must judge how effectively a choice worked on the audience and why. The shape of every paragraph is: select a specific moment, analyse the precise choice, then evaluate its effectiveness with reasons. Description, however accurate, cannot reach the top bands.

Analysing performers

When the question is about performance, evaluate the actors' vocal, physical and interpretive choices. Name what the performer did (a rising pitch, a held stillness, a closing of distance), say what it communicated, and judge how effectively it worked on the audience. Track how choices changed across the production to build a journey, and note how performers played against each other. Analyse the performer's choices, never the character as a real person.

Analysing design

When the question is about design, evaluate the set and staging, lighting, sound and costume. Name a specific design state (a cold side-light, a swelling drone, a deteriorating costume), say what it communicated, and judge its effectiveness. Evaluate how states changed with the action and how design supported or undercut the performance. Name specific states and judge them, rather than describing the look in general.

Evaluating the director's interpretation

The most demanding questions ask you to evaluate the director's concept and its impact on the audience, usually framed as "to what extent" or "how effectively". Identify the concept, test how performance and design realised it across the production, keep audience impact central, weigh successes against weaknesses, and reach an overall judgement. This is the whole-production version of the task.

How Section B is assessed

Section B tests two objectives, and the balance is decisive:

• AO4 (dominant). Analysing and evaluating the work of others: judging how effectively choices worked on the audience.
• AO3 (supporting). Knowledge and understanding of how theatre is performed: reading the choices accurately as theatre.
• AO1 and AO2 are not assessed here, so this is not about your own ideas or your own performance skill, but about judging a production you watched.

Check your knowledge

A mix of recall and applied questions on Section B. Attempt them, then check against the solutions.

1. State the marks and dominant objective of Section B. (2 marks)
2. Is the production set by OCR or chosen freely? (1 mark)
3. What is the single discriminator between the bands in Section B? (2 marks)
4. What is the shape of a strong Section B paragraph? (2 marks)
5. What is the difference between analysing a performer and describing a character? (2 marks)
6. How should you analyse a design choice? (2 marks)
7. What do "to what extent" and "how effectively" questions demand? (2 marks)
8. Which two objectives are NOT assessed in Section B? (2 marks)