Many previous studies have reported the effectiveness of using drama activities in English learning, but most of them focused on the drama activities with short practice periods and performances in the classroom with their classmates. The present study is interested in examining the effects of English drama activities that purport to offer performances on a stage for real audiences after five-month intensive practices on one piece of work. It paid particular attention to their effects on middle school students’ listening and speaking abilities and attitudes towards English learning and drama activities. To this end, 32 students in a private English institute participated in the study, with 16 students in the experimental group and the other students in the control group. The results showed that the students in the experimental group made more improvements on their listening and speaking tests than those in the control group. Furthermore, the English drama activities were found to positively affect students' attitudes towards English learning and drama activities. Limitations and directions for further research are discussed.