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Nick Hern Books

Drama Classics series

The world's great plays at a great little price

Each pocket-sized volume contains:

  • a full introduction
  • an author biography
  • notes on historical and theatrical context
  • a plot synopsis
  • key dates
  • a further reading list
  • a glossary of unusual words and phrases (English-language texts)

The texts are presented uncut (with the exception of Faust, which is adapted for staging in a single evening) and uncluttered with footnotes; the translations are accurate and actable.

See also Drama Classic Collections.

Showing 55-72 of 94 items.
All for Love

All for Love

By John Dryden

Dryden's 1677 play All for Love is a version of the Antony and Cleopatra story, told as a heroic tragedy.

Edward II

Edward II

By Christopher Marlowe

The political tragedy of a King who indulges his passion and renounces his duties, and ultimately pays the price for forsaking his country.

  • Paperback£4.99 £3.99
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The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard

By Anton Chekhov Translated by Stephen Mulrine

Chekhov's classic tragicomedy, translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine.

  • Paperback£4.99 £3.99
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The School for Scandal

The School for Scandal

By Richard Brinsley Sheridan

A classic comedy of manners, ridiculing affectation and pretentiousness. In the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

Bacchae

Bacchae

By Euripides Translated by Kenneth McLeish and Frederic Raphael

The story of revenge by the half-man, half-god Dionysos on Pentheus, King of Thebes, and all his people.

Life is a Dream

Life is a Dream

By Pedro Calderón Translated by John Clifford

A masterpiece of the Spanish Golden Age, in an English version by John Clifford.

Bartholomew Fair

Bartholomew Fair

By Ben Jonson

Ben Jonson's bawdy Jacobean comedy, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

The Playboy of the Western World

The Playboy of the Western World

By J.M. Synge

J.M. Synge's extraordinary play about a young man on the run, and his unexpected elevation to folk hero. In the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

Ubu

Ubu

The Ubu Plays: King Ubu, Cuckold Ubu & Slave Ubu

By Alfred Jarry Translated by Kenneth McLeish

Alfred Jarry's trilogy of plays about the comically grotesque character of Pa Ubu, satirising power, greed, and bourgeois pretension.

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King Ubu

King Ubu

By Alfred Jarry

Alfred Jarry's surreal and hilarious satire of power, greed, and bourgeois pretension, the first of his three plays about the comically grotesque character of Pa Ubu.

Published in volume Ubu
    Cuckold Ubu

    Cuckold Ubu

    By Alfred Jarry

    A sequel to King Ubu, Alfred Jarry's surreal and hilarious satire of power, greed, and bourgeois pretension. Cuckold Ubu continues the adventures of Pa Ubu.

    Published in volume Ubu
      Slave Ubu

      Slave Ubu

      By Alfred Jarry

      The third and final part of The Ubu Plays, Alfred Jarry's surreal and hilarious satire of power, greed, and bourgeois pretension. Slave Ubu concludes the adventures of Pa Ubu.

      Published in volume Ubu
        The Seagull

        The Seagull

        By Anton Chekhov Translated by Stephen Mulrine

        Chekhov's early tragedy, translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine.

        The Spanish Tragedy

        The Spanish Tragedy

        By Thomas Kyd

        A ghoulish and bloody 16th-century tragedy. In the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

        The Master Builder

        The Master Builder

        By Henrik Ibsen Translated by Kenneth McLeish

        Ibsen's study of the corrosive effects of a guilty conscience. In the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

        • Paperback£4.99 £3.99
          There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
        Don Juan

        Don Juan

        By Molière Translated by Kenneth McLeish

        Molière's comedy about the notorious womaniser, in a fresh and performable translation by Kenneth McLeish.

        • Paperback£3.99 £3.19
          There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
        The Recruiting Officer

        The Recruiting Officer

        By George Farquhar

        A classic Restoration-era comedy about the sexual exploits of two officers, the womanising Plume and the cowardly Brazen, as they go about their task of recruiting soldiers in the town of Shrewsbury.

        The Government Inspector

        The Government Inspector

        By Nikolai Gogol Translated by Stephen Mulrine

        A classic satire of provincial bureaucracy, in an English translation by Stephen Mulrine. In the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series.

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