Child's friend, male, had a meal after drama (8)
I believe the answer is:
playmate
'child's friend' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'male had a meal after drama' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'm' (common abbreviation).
'had a meal' becomes 'ate' (ate a meal).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'drama' becomes 'play' (synonyms).
'm'+'ate'='mate'
'mate' after 'play' is 'PLAYMATE'.
(Other definitions for playmate that I've seen before include "Chum in recreation" , "Game participant" , "Child's companion" , "Companion for fun" , "Childhood companion" .)