Component 1 (Written Exam) - We cannot access a professional stage production of the set play, is this an issue?

It is NOT a requirement of the exam to refer to previous productions of the set play. Students are required to refer to the style, genre and/or context (SGC) of their set text and reference to the play in production is one of the acceptable ways of meeting this requirement -  if it is made relevant to the question.

References to the prevailing staging conventions in which the play was originally performed may be made relevant to a candidate’s personal interpretation of an extract or of selected sections from the set play and be credited as an aspect of SGC.

Similarly, references to a play’s production history and/or to a contemporary production, seen by the candidate, may be made relevant to a candidate’s response to the precise focus of the question. 

However, arbitrary references to previous productions which do not inform the candidate’s interpretation of the play nor reveal understanding of SGC are rarely credit-worthy.