Drink before a play (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'play' is the definition.
('drama' can be a synonym of 'play')
'drink before a' is the wordplay.
'drink' becomes 'dram' (I've seen this before**).
'before' says to put letters next to each other.
'dram'+'a'='DRAMA'
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Tragic situation" , "show of histrionics" , "theatre studies" , "sensation" , "theatre production" .)