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Welcome to the Bring the Drama Festival

The Bring the Drama Festival ran in February and March 2024, to complement the six-part BBC Two and iPlayer series that opened up the world of screen drama. The Festival was a chance to look behind the scenes of film, TV and theatre and explore careers on stage or screen.

Our series of short films spotlights people in creative roles on productions including Matilda the Musical, Hamilton, Waterloo Road, Shrek the Musical and the Harry Potter films.

The BBC joined forces with more than 150 of the UK’s leading creative organisations to deliver unique events throughout the Festival.

Partners showcased everything from stage-managing to wig-making, lighting to line producing, art direction to make-up design. The public could connect through the ERIC careers app with the hundreds of events that took place in locations across the UK.

Below is a sample of the hundreds of events that took place with more than 150 partners. The range of activities included talks, tours, workshops, masterclasses, Q&As and ‘meet the teams’.

The gateway to events was the Bring the Drama Festival on ERIC, the Creative Arts app for your phone.

  • Backstage tours at The Lyric Belfast throughout its production of Little Women;
  • Behind the scenes tours of Hamilton and Les Misérables with the Cameron Mackintosh Limited production teams;
  • Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios ran a marketplace event to showcase the vast range of careers across film, TV and theatre;
  • A Play, a Pie and a Pint in Glasgow opened its doors to showcase opportunities for craftspeople and stage managers;
  • Work experience opportunities with Northern Ireland Screen;
  • Bespoke tours of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s workshops in Stratford;
  • BBC Cardiff Central hosting set tours including Crimewatch and Sin Bin;
  • Other partners hosting events included Sadler's Wells, the Royal Opera House, Into Film, the Curve Theatre in Leicester, Liverpool Everyman, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Confetti Media in Nottingham and Whitechapel, and BECTU in Glasgow.

Find an Event

Festival events on the ERIC app.

Please note that you must be 16 or older to sign up for the app. If you’re under 16, we kindly ask that you get a parent, guardian or teacher to download the app and apply to opportunities on your behalf.

Find an Event

  • The Festival

    Complementing the six-part series that opens up the world of screen drama, the Bring the Drama Festival highlights behind-the-scenes careers in film, stage and television.

  • Videos: Creative Careers

    Watch what it’s like to work behind the scenes - from the people doing jobs on inspiring shows like Matilda the Musical, Hamilton, Waterloo Road, Shrek the Musical and the Harry Potter films.

  • Find an Event

    How to connect on the ERIC app to unique careers events run by Festival partners - events live from the start of February.

Organisations involved in creating the Festival with the BBC included: Arts Council England; National Theatre; National Youth Theatre; Screen Alliance North; Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre; Get Into Theatre; Into Film; Cameron Mackintosh Limited; Bristol Old Vic; ScreenSkills; the BFI; BAFTA; Screen Scotland; Northern Ireland Screen and Ffilm Cymru.