Nick Hern Books

Great Plays for Festivals

A selection of our plays available for performance, specially chosen for their suitability for performance at festivals. Most of these plays have a shorter running time, generally 30-60 mins, or can be performed in a shorter version by prior arrangement. For more specific requirements, please contact our Performing Rights Department. Please note that inclusion here does not indicate that rights are available - it is important that you enquire about rights availability before making any commitment.

Showing 1-24 of 190 items.
(Not) the End of the World

(Not) the End of the World

By Chris Bush

A daringly theatrical investigation of the climate crisis through the perspectives of class, patriarchy and colonialism.

100

100

By Christopher Heimann, Neil Monaghan and Diene Petterle

A strikingly original play combining traditional storytelling with physical theatre, created by The Imaginary Body. Winner of a Fringe First Award at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

15 Heroines

15 Heroines

15 Monologues Adapted from Ovid

By Various

Drawing inspiration from Ovid, fifteen leading female and non-binary British playwrights dramatise the lives of fifteen classical heroines in a series of new monologues for the twenty-first century.

3 Billion Seconds

3 Billion Seconds

By Maud Dromgoole

A hilarious, macabre love story about a pregnant couple of activists attempting to offset the carbon footprint of their unborn baby's life.

54% Acrylic

54% Acrylic

By David Harrower

A short play about a young woman who, after shoplifting for the first time, is chased by the store detective.

Abigail

Abigail

By Fiona Doyle

A man in his forties and a woman in her twenties meet on a trip to Berlin. Across a fractured timeline where past and present collide, the story of their relationship, their love and their struggle unravels.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£9.99 £7.99
    Add to basket
Acting Leader

Acting Leader

By Joy Wilkinson

A short play about Margaret Beckett finding herself Acting Leader of the Opposition after the sudden death of John Smith.

Age is a Feeling

Age is a Feeling

By Haley McGee

A gripping one-person play that wrestles with the glorious and melancholy uncertainties of human life, from the author of The Ex-Boyfriend Yard Sale.

Albertine in Five Times

Albertine in Five Times

By Michel Tremblay Translated by John Van Burek and Bill Glassco

A simultaneous portrait of a woman at five different ages. Five actresses portray Albertine at different times of her life whilst conversing freely with each other and with their sister Madeleine.

Published in volume The Guid Sisters and other plays
    All honey

    All honey

    By Ciara Elizabeth Smyth

    A play about sex, secrets and suspicion, winner of the 2017 Fishamble New Writing Award.

    Published in volume SAUCE and All honey: Two Plays
      All On Her Own

      All On Her Own

      By Terence Rattigan

      A powerfully atmospheric one-woman play, All On Her Own tells the story of Rosemary who, alone at midnight in London, has a secret burden to share that is both heartbreaking and sinister.

      Published in volume Harlequinade & All On Her Own
        Almost Nothing & At the Table

        Almost Nothing & At the Table

        Two plays

        By Marcos Barbosa Translated by Mark O'Thomas

        Two tense and unnerving short plays from talented Brazilian playwright, Marcos Barbosa.

        • Paperback£8.99 £7.19
          There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
        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.

        The Approach

        The Approach

        By Mark O'Rowe

        Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, Mark O'Rowe's The Approach explores the inner lives of three women as they desperately try to make sense of their world.

        Banana Boys

        Banana Boys

        By Evan Placey

        A play about the challenges of being on the school football team – and secretly gay.

        Bé Carna

        Bé Carna

        By Deirdre Kinahan

        A short play in which five women reflect on their lives as prostitutes on the streets of Dublin.

        The Bear

        The Bear

        By Anton Chekhov Translated by Stephen Mulrine

        A one-act comic play about a reclusive young widow whose life takes a surprisingly romantic turn.

        Published in volume Chekhov: Shorts
          bedbound

          bedbound

          By Enda Walsh

          A ferocious two-hander about a father-daughter relationship gone horribly and terrifyingly wrong.

          Before You Say Anything

          Before You Say Anything

          By Carys D. Coburn With MALAPROP Theatre

          A play that questions how everyone can be safe at the same time. A time-travelling set of interweaving stories exploring injustice, freedom and bravery.

          Being Friends

          Being Friends

          By Robert Holman

          The first of the three plays that make up Robert Holman's acclaimed dramatic trilogy Making Noise Quietly.

          Published in volume Making Noise Quietly: three short plays
            Bellringers

            Bellringers

            By Daisy Hall

            A comic and deeply moving play about being young at the end of the world. Premiered at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Hampstead Theatre, London.

            Biscuits for Breakfast

            Biscuits for Breakfast

            By Gareth Farr

            A tender, heartfelt drama about families – the ones we inherit and the ones we create – and the struggle to survive when times get tough.

            Blackout Songs

            Blackout Songs

            By Joe White

            A compassionate and unflinching study of love, addiction and memory after a chance encounter at an AA meeting.

            Blackthorn

            Blackthorn

            By Charley Miles

            A contemporary, lyrical love story that explores the changes and choices that pull us from the places and people we love.