A wee drink before play (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'play' is the definition.
('drama' can be a synonym of 'play')
'a wee drink before' is the wordplay.
'wee drink' becomes 'dram' (I've seen this before).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'a' after 'dram' is 'DRAMA'.
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Play, emotional series of events" , "spectacle of emotion" , "Exciting play or event" , "Play - big emotional scene" , "Play - excitement" .)