A LEVEL DRAMA AND THEATRE: Actual June 2025 PAST PAPER 3: Analysing Performance.
All Assessment Questions & Mark Scheme [OCR H459/31]
Exam Resource Summary
The A Level Drama and Theatre June 2025 Analysing Performance Paper (OCR H459/31) brings
together the full official examination paper with its detailed mark scheme to create a focused and practical
revision resource. This paper assesses students’ ability to critically evaluate live and scripted
performance, examining how meaning is communicated through acting, directing, design, staging, and
practitioner influence. Candidates are required to apply analytical frameworks, justify interpretative
decisions, and engage with performance contexts in depth. By placing each question beside the
corresponding marking criteria, the resource clarifies examiner expectations, the standard of analysis
required, and the qualities of high-band responses. This integrated format supports targeted revision,
strengthens evaluative and critical thinking skills, and provides essential guidance for effective
preparation for the May/June 2026 OCR A Level Drama and Theatre Analysing Performance
examination.
OCR is an exempt Charity
Turn over
, 2
Section A
Answer both questions on one theme in this section.
Theme 1: Conflict
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
Black Watch – Gregory Burke
Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Necessary Targets – Eve Ensler
Oh! What a Lovely War – Joan Littlewood
The Long and the Short and the Tall – Willis Hall
1 Select a character from the play you have studied. As an actor, how would you vary your pacing
to show conflicts in that character’s mind?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
AND
2 As a set designer, how would you create opportunities for the actors to bring out conflicts in the
drama in the play you have studied?
Refer to the opening scenes to support your answer. [15]
© OCR 2025 H459/31 Jun25
, 3
Theme 2: Family Dynamics
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg – Peter Nichols
King Lear – William Shakespeare
Live Like Pigs – John Arden
The Caucasian Chalk Circle – Bertolt Brecht
The House of Bernarda Alba – Federico García Lorca
3 As a director, how would you balance the tensions between characters in the opening scene or
scenes of the play you have studied? [15]
AND
4 Select a character from the play you have studied. As an actor, how would you perform this role
to help build dramatic tension within the family?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
Theme 3: Heroes and Villains
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
Amadeus – Peter Shaffer
Caligula – Albert Camus
Frankenstein – Nick Dear
Othello – William Shakespeare
The Love of the Nightingale – Timberlake Wertenbaker
5 What design elements would you use to create a sinister atmosphere in the opening scenes of
the play you have studied? [15]
AND
6 As an actor playing a character with villainous qualities, what acting skills would you use to make
the character likeable or dislikeable to the audience?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
© OCR 2025 H459/31 Jun25 Turn over
All Assessment Questions & Mark Scheme [OCR H459/31]
Exam Resource Summary
The A Level Drama and Theatre June 2025 Analysing Performance Paper (OCR H459/31) brings
together the full official examination paper with its detailed mark scheme to create a focused and practical
revision resource. This paper assesses students’ ability to critically evaluate live and scripted
performance, examining how meaning is communicated through acting, directing, design, staging, and
practitioner influence. Candidates are required to apply analytical frameworks, justify interpretative
decisions, and engage with performance contexts in depth. By placing each question beside the
corresponding marking criteria, the resource clarifies examiner expectations, the standard of analysis
required, and the qualities of high-band responses. This integrated format supports targeted revision,
strengthens evaluative and critical thinking skills, and provides essential guidance for effective
preparation for the May/June 2026 OCR A Level Drama and Theatre Analysing Performance
examination.
OCR is an exempt Charity
Turn over
, 2
Section A
Answer both questions on one theme in this section.
Theme 1: Conflict
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
Black Watch – Gregory Burke
Hamlet – William Shakespeare
Necessary Targets – Eve Ensler
Oh! What a Lovely War – Joan Littlewood
The Long and the Short and the Tall – Willis Hall
1 Select a character from the play you have studied. As an actor, how would you vary your pacing
to show conflicts in that character’s mind?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
AND
2 As a set designer, how would you create opportunities for the actors to bring out conflicts in the
drama in the play you have studied?
Refer to the opening scenes to support your answer. [15]
© OCR 2025 H459/31 Jun25
, 3
Theme 2: Family Dynamics
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
A Day in the Death of Joe Egg – Peter Nichols
King Lear – William Shakespeare
Live Like Pigs – John Arden
The Caucasian Chalk Circle – Bertolt Brecht
The House of Bernarda Alba – Federico García Lorca
3 As a director, how would you balance the tensions between characters in the opening scene or
scenes of the play you have studied? [15]
AND
4 Select a character from the play you have studied. As an actor, how would you perform this role
to help build dramatic tension within the family?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
Theme 3: Heroes and Villains
Use one performance text in your answer to each question.
Use a different performance text for each question.
Write the name of the performance text you have studied at the start of each answer.
Amadeus – Peter Shaffer
Caligula – Albert Camus
Frankenstein – Nick Dear
Othello – William Shakespeare
The Love of the Nightingale – Timberlake Wertenbaker
5 What design elements would you use to create a sinister atmosphere in the opening scenes of
the play you have studied? [15]
AND
6 As an actor playing a character with villainous qualities, what acting skills would you use to make
the character likeable or dislikeable to the audience?
Refer to at least three scenes to support your answer. [15]
© OCR 2025 H459/31 Jun25 Turn over
