Cambridge IGCSE Drama 0411 Past Papers 2026

Written Paper

Duration: 2h 30m

Coursework

Duration: Internally assessed, externally moderated

Performance

Duration: Live performance examination (length set by syllabus)

Set design as a distinct discipline (space, environment, staging types) — not lighting, props or sound

Set design questions Q5 and Q8 were flagged across all three paper variants: 'Generally, set design questions were not answered well... a basic lack of understanding of the distinctive nature and function of set design as opposed to lighting, costume and props design and frequently lumped all these design disciplines together.' Many relied 'exclusively on lighting without making it clear that this was how they would be creating a virtual set.'

Paper 1

Showing 'obsessive', 'nervous' or other inner states through specific physical and vocal craft

On portraying obsessive characters (Mel / Felix / Oscar): 'Often this amounted to just a description of behaviour... Some responses did not seem aware of how obsessive may manifest itself in physical characteristics.' On nervousness (Ben Silverman): 'although some were able to identify basic acting techniques which could be used to convey anxiousness, they did not identify why this nervousness was provoked by the relationship between the characters.'

Paper 1

Balancing two contrasting elements within a single answer (sadness/frustration; tension/humour; differing views)

'Weaker responses tried to find examples of sadness AND frustration shown at the same time not realising that the question was asking for advice as to how to cover both, but separately.' 'Lower scoring responses missed the opportunities to explore a range of ideas and instead focused on just one or two ideas or focused on either tension or humour rather than on both.'

Paper 1

Distinguishing the director's role from the actor's role and from design

'There was also some confusion between the role of a director and other production roles. When asked to explain how they might direct a particular aspect, some candidates focused on technical elements like costume, lighting, or sound.' Many directing answers were instead written from an actor's perspective, missing 'how actors and the script are used to realise the intended vision'.

Paper 1

Multi-role, multi-location, non-naturalistic staging (e.g. narrators, ensemble work)

On the Robin Hood extract: 'It was important that candidates should recognise the challenges of playing a central character in a multi-role drama. Some candidates focused heavily on how to play other characters rather than focusing on ROBIN.' On NARRATORS: 'Some candidates limited their responses by stating that the NARRATORS were distanced from the action and just sat at the side. This meant that they missed creative opportunities to explore the audience/NARRATORS’ relationship.'

Paper 1

True evaluation in Section C (cause-and-effect reflection on intention vs outcome)

'True evaluation requires a thorough consideration of intention, cause and effect and this proved too challenging for less able candidates. Responses with little or no true evaluative comment were confined to bands four and five.' 'Often, responses took the form of a narrative recount of what was performed, focusing on what was intended rather than critically evaluating the actual outcome.'

Paper 1

Coursework AO3: pacing, emotional intensity and audience engagement

'The most common area of over-marking was in the assessment of AO3, where some centres awarded marks several bands higher than the performances merited. These was particularly the case where pacing, levels of emotional intensity and engagement with the audience were over-estimated.'

Paper 2

Repertoire selection and devised piece coherence

'There were also some candidates who tackled pieces that were much too difficult for them and required a level of depth and maturity they did not have.' On devised work: 'a worryingly high number of weaker pieces that were stylistically flaccid, the performers stumbling through static characterisation and mundane dialogue to discover ultimately that they had succeeded in communicating no particular message to their audience.'

Paper 2