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WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre: complete guide to the components, set texts and exam

A complete guide to WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre (Wales). Covers the three components (Theatre Workshop, Text in Action and the Text in Performance written exam), the practitioners and companies you apply, the set texts and the pre-1956 and post-1956 rule, live theatre evaluation, the assessment objectives, and how to study for top grades.

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WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre (Wales) is a highly practical course assessed by two non-exam practical components and one written exam. This page is the index: below is a map of the components, the practitioners you apply, the set texts and exam skills, and how to study each one.

The WJEC Drama and Theatre components

The qualification is built from two practical, non-exam components and one written paper. Together the practical work carries 60 per cent and the written exam carries 40 per cent.

Component 1: Theatre Workshop (20 per cent)
A non-exam assessment in which you reinterpret an extract from a WJEC-supplied text through the working methods of one practitioner or company, performed as a performer or designer and documented in a creative log. It is marked by your centre and moderated by WJEC.
Component 2: Text in Action (40 per cent)
A non-exam assessment in which you create two contrasting pieces from a WJEC stimulus, a devised piece using one practitioner or company and a performance of a text extract in a different style. It is assessed live by a visiting examiner and documented in a process and evaluation report.
Component 3: Text in Performance (40 per cent)
A 2 hour 30 minute open-book written exam on two complete set texts and a third printed extract, answered as a theatre maker, including the evaluation of live theatre you have seen.

The practitioners and companies

The practical components are built around the applied influence of a practitioner or recognised company. Widely studied choices include Stanislavski (psychological realism), Brecht (epic theatre), Artaud (the Theatre of Cruelty), Berkoff (physical total theatre) and Frantic Assembly (devised physical ensemble theatre). You apply one in Component 1 and a different one in Component 2, and the same methods inform how you write about staging in the exam. The skill is turning techniques into concrete, sustained choices rather than definitions.

Set texts and exam skills

Component 3 tests two complete set texts plus a contrasting printed extract, with one complete text written before 1956 and one after. You answer as a performer, director or designer, justifying every staging choice by its effect on the audience, and you analyse and evaluate a live production you have watched. These theatre-maker and evaluation skills, as much as the content, separate the grades.

Exam structure

WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre is assessed by two practical components and one written exam.

  • Theatre Workshop - a practical reinterpretation of a supplied extract through one practitioner, with a creative log (AO1, AO2, AO3).
  • Text in Action - two contrasting stimulus-based pieces assessed by a visiting examiner, with a process and evaluation report (AO1, AO2, AO3).
  • Text in Performance - a written exam on two complete set texts and a printed extract, answered as a theatre maker (AO3, AO4).
  • Live theatre evaluation - the analysis and evaluation of a professional production you have seen, tested in the written paper (AO4).

How to study WJEC Drama and Theatre

Drama and Theatre rewards application, staging and justification over description and plot.

  1. Work component by component. Each component rewards different skills; plan your practitioners and set texts against the specification.
  2. Master two practitioners. Know one for Component 1 and a different one for Component 2 in real depth.
  3. Stage every text. Read each set text as a script for performance, converting moments into choices.
  4. Always justify by audience effect. Pair every staging or design choice with its effect on the audience.
  5. Keep a live theatre log. Record and evaluate specific moments from productions through the year.

The components and skills, topic by topic

Each module has a topic-level overview with worked exam questions and cross-links, plus dot-point answer pages for each component, practitioner and skill.

For the official specification

WJEC publishes the full specification, set text lists, past papers and mark schemes at wjec.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and WJEC's own past papers, because set texts and question style are board-specific.

Drama guides

In-depth written guides with paired practice quizzes.

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Drama practice quizzes

Multiple-choice drills with worked answer explanations. Your scores stay on this device.

The WJEC-A-LEVEL system, explained

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Common questions about Drama

How is WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre structured?
The qualification has three components. Component 1 Theatre Workshop (20 per cent) is a non-exam assessment in which you reinterpret a supplied extract through one practitioner's methods. Component 2 Text in Action (40 per cent) is a non-exam assessment of two contrasting stimulus-based pieces, assessed by a visiting examiner. Component 3 Text in Performance (40 per cent) is a written exam on two complete set texts and a printed extract. So 60 per cent is practical and 40 per cent is written. This follows the WJEC specification taught in Wales from 2016.
What are the components of WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre?
Component 1 Theatre Workshop is a practical reinterpretation of a WJEC-supplied extract through one practitioner or company, with a creative log, marked by your centre and moderated by WJEC. Component 2 Text in Action is two contrasting pieces developed from a WJEC stimulus, a devised piece and a text-extract performance, assessed live by a visiting examiner, with a process and evaluation report. Component 3 Text in Performance is a 2 hour 30 minute open-book written exam on two complete set texts and a printed extract, where you answer as a theatre maker and evaluate live theatre.
Which practitioners does WJEC Drama and Theatre cover?
WJEC lists practitioners and recognised companies whose working methods you apply in the practical components. Widely studied choices include Konstantin Stanislavski (psychological realism), Bertolt Brecht (epic theatre), Antonin Artaud (the Theatre of Cruelty), Steven Berkoff (physical total theatre) and Frantic Assembly (devised physical ensemble theatre). You apply one practitioner or company in Component 1 and a different one in Component 2, and the methods also inform how you write about staging texts in the written exam. Always confirm the current approved list against the specification.
What set texts and exam skills does the written paper test?
Component 3 tests two complete set texts plus a third contrasting text examined as a printed extract. One complete text must be written before 1956 and one after 1956, so you study contrasting theatrical periods. The paper has three sections: structured questions on one set text, an extended essay on the other, and a question on the printed extract. You answer as a performer, director or designer, justifying staging choices by their effect on an audience, and you also analyse and evaluate live theatre you have seen. It assesses AO3 and AO4.
How should I revise for WJEC A-Level Drama and Theatre?
Work component by component. For the practical components, master one practitioner deeply for Component 1 and a different one for Component 2, and turn their techniques into concrete, sustained choices documented in your log and report. For the written exam, treat every set text as a script to be staged rather than a story to be retold, build a vocabulary of performer, director and designer choices justified by audience effect, use the open book to cite precise moments, and keep a live theatre log of specific, evaluated moments. Always practise reaching judgements rather than narrating.
How does WJEC Drama and Theatre compare to other exam boards?
All A-Level Drama and Theatre specifications develop the same core skills of making, performing and evaluating theatre, applying practitioners and studying set texts, but the structures differ. WJEC's distinctive features are its three-component split with a large visiting-examiner practical (Text in Action), its particular set text lists and the pre-1956 and post-1956 rule, and its own written question styles. The closely related Eduqas specification is the version taught in England. Always revise from the current WJEC specification and WJEC past papers, because question wording, set texts and mark schemes are board-specific.