Pearson Edexcel GCSE Drama (1DR0): complete guide to the three components, the set text and the practical and written skills

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Drama (specification 1DR0) is a two-year course assessed by two non-examination components and one written exam. The qualification is built around three practical relationships with theatre: making it (devising), performing it (from a text), and understanding it (the written exam on a set play and live theatre). This page is the index: below is a map of the three components, the four assessment objectives, the prescribed texts, the practical skills, and how to study each part.

The three components of Drama

The specification is organised into three components, each weighted and each testing a different blend of the four objectives. Because two of the three are practical, the real subject is the doing of drama, not memorised facts.

Component 1: Devising (40%, 60 marks)

You create and develop an original piece from a stimulus chosen by your centre, perform it (or design for it), and write a portfolio that documents and evaluates the process. It assesses AO1 (creating ideas), AO2 (the performance or design) and AO4 (analysis and evaluation). It is internally marked and externally moderated.

Component 2: Performance from a Text (20%, 48 marks)

You perform in, or design for, two key extracts from a published play that contrasts with your Component 3 text in time, genre and playwright. It assesses AO2 only and is marked by a visiting examiner or from a recording.

Component 3: Theatre Makers in Practice (40%, 60 marks)

A 1 hour 45 minute written exam. Section A, Bringing Texts to Life, gives you an unseen extract from your set text and asks how you would perform, direct and design it (45 marks, AO3). Section B, Live Theatre Evaluation, asks you to analyse and evaluate a production you have seen (15 marks, AO4).

The four assessment objectives

Every component is marked against the same four objectives, so building them as transferable skills matters more than memorising one play.

• AO1 (20%) - create and develop ideas to communicate meaning for theatrical performance.
• AO2 (30%) - apply theatrical skills to realise artistic intentions in live performance.
• AO3 (30%) - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how drama and theatre is developed and performed.
• AO4 (20%) - analyse and evaluate your own work and the work of others.

AO2 and AO3 carry the most marks. AO1, AO2 and AO4 are tested through the coursework; AO3 and the live theatre half of AO4 are tested only in the written exam.

The prescribed performance texts

For the Component 3 written exam you study one complete text from List A or List B. You may not take the text into the exam, because the extract is printed for you.

• List A (pre-1954), one from: A Doll's House (Ibsen, adapted by Tanika Gupta), An Inspector Calls (J B Priestley), Antigone (Sophocles, adapted by Roy Williams), Government Inspector (Gogol, adapted by David Harrower), The Crucible (Arthur Miller), Twelfth Night (Shakespeare). Examined on paper 1DR0/3A.
• List B (post-2000), one from: 100, 1984, Blue Stockings, DNA (Dennis Kelly), The Free9, Gone Too Far!. Examined on paper 1DR0/3B.

For Component 2 your centre chooses a second play that contrasts in time period, genre and playwright with the Component 3 text.

How to study Drama

This subject rewards practical thinking over memorised content.

1. Think like a theatre maker. For every moment, ask how you would perform, direct or design it, and why. This is exactly what Section A rewards.
2. Ground decisions in context. AO3 wants choices tied to the world and the time the play was written and first staged, not free invention.
3. Build secure skills. Drill physical and vocal skills and one design discipline so your practical work (Components 1 and 2) is controlled and deliberate.
4. Keep live theatre notes. Watch a production actively and record specific moments of acting and design so Section B has concrete evidence.
5. Analyse and evaluate your own work. The portfolio and Section B both reward honest, specific analysis and evaluation, not description.

The components, dot point by dot point

Each component has specification-level answer pages with practice questions and cross-links, plus deep-dive overview guides. Browse the full set at /gcse-edexcel/drama/syllabus.

For the official specification

Pearson publishes the full specification (1DR0), the prescribed text lists, sample assessment materials, past papers and mark schemes at qualifications.pearson.com. Always revise from the current specification and Edexcel's own past papers, because set texts and question wording are board-specific.