Nick Hern Books

Plays for One Performer

Discover fringe-theatre shows turned award-winning TV series, memoir-monologues, writer-actor collaborations and so many more excellent examples of solo shows in our collection below.

If you're a theatre-maker interested in creating your own solo show, there's no better place to start than with Making Your Solo Show: The Compact Guide, by Lisa Carroll and Milly Thomas – both experienced solo-show writers, who teach popular workshops on getting to grips with the form.

Discover 10 top tips to make your solo show memorable, an extract from Lisa and Milly's book over on our blog.

Showing 73-90 of 143 items.
Queers: Eight Monologues

Queers: Eight Monologues

By various Created by Mark Gatiss

Queers celebrates a century of evolving social attitudes and political milestones in British gay history, as seen through the eyes of eight individuals.

Angel

Angel

By Henry Naylor

Inspired by the extraordinary true story of the Angel of Kobane, Angel is part of Henry Naylor's Arabian Nightmares trilogy.

small hours

small hours

By Lucy Kirkwood and Ed Hime With Katie Mitchell

A collaborative theatre piece created by playwrights Lucy Kirkwood and Ed Hime with theatre director Katie Mitchell, dissecting the claustrophobic world of a new mother struggling to cope on her own.

Out of Your Knowledge

Out of Your Knowledge

By Steve Waters

A short play that explores our changing attitudes towards the landscape.

Death of a Cyclist

Death of a Cyclist

By Steve Waters

A poignant, bleakly comic short monologue told by a woman killed in a cycling accident.

In a Vulnerable Place

In a Vulnerable Place

By Steve Waters

A monologue documenting Steve Waters' own journey from the Norfolk Broads to the steppes of Mongolia to explore, first hand, what is happening to the natural world and the human heart.

Run

Run

By Stephen Laughton

Stephen Laughton's one-man play about a gay Jewish seventeen-year-old explores what it means to love, to lose, and how to grow from a boy into a man.

Maisie Says She Loves Me

Maisie Says She Loves Me

By Jimmy Osborne

A one-man play about love, inheritance and not letting your feelings show.

good dog

good dog

By Arinzé Kene

A theatrical monologue that chronicles growing up in a multicultural community, and the everyday injustices that drive people to take back control.

Last Letters Home

Last Letters Home

By Matt Hartley

A short monologue play for a female performer.

Published in volume Here I Belong
    Fleabag: The Original Play

    Fleabag: The Original Play

    By Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    The outrageously funny play that became the wildly successful and 'utterly riveting' (Guardian) BBC television series.

    Mr Incredible

    Mr Incredible

    By Camilla Whitehill

    A brutal one-man play about modern love and old-fashioned entitlement.

    Scorch

    Scorch

    By Stacey Gregg

    A touching and provocative story of first love though the eyes of a gender-curious teen, inspired by recent UK cases of 'gender fraud'.

    A Girl's Bedroom

    A Girl's Bedroom

    By Enda Walsh

    A short play from the author of Disco Pigs and The Walworth Farce.

    Published in volume Arlington
      Kitchen

      Kitchen

      By Enda Walsh

      A short play from the author of Disco Pigs and The Walworth Farce.

      Published in volume Arlington
        The Encounter

        The Encounter

        By Simon McBurney and Complicite

        A solo show tracing one man's journey into the Amazon rainforest and to the limits of human consciousness, inspired by the book Amazon Beaming by Petru Popescu.

        Mr Incredible (VAULT version)

        Mr Incredible (VAULT version)

        By Camilla Whitehill

        A monologue about love and entitlement by Camilla Whitehill, author of Where Do Little Birds Go?, who was described by The Times as 'a writer of huge promise'.

        Published in volume Plays from VAULT
          Primadonna

          Primadonna

          By Rosie Kellett

          A one-woman play that lays bare the world of the celebrity PA as a young first-timer navigates impossible tasks, difficult conversations and fearsome passive aggression.

          Top Titles

          See our top titles for actors, teachers, directors and more...