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 169-190 of 190 items.
Swallow

Swallow

By Stef Smith

Passionate, painful and playful, Stef Smith’s Swallow takes a long, hard look at the extremes of everyday life.

Tape

Tape

By Stephen Belber

An unsettling and unpredictable drama about the love-hate chemistry that endures between friends.

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This Wide Night

This Wide Night

By Chloë Moss

A tender portrayal of two women trying to start again after their release from prison.

Three Kings

Three Kings

By Stephen Beresford

A heartbreaking and hilarious play for a solo actor about fathers and sons, the gifts and burdens of inheritance, and the unfathomable puzzle of human relationships. 

The Thrill of Love

The Thrill of Love

By Amanda Whittington

A gripping drama about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain.

Through the Mud

Through the Mud

By Apphia Campbell

The story of two generations of women activists in the struggle for Black liberation in America. From the Fringe First-winning creator of the hit show Black is the Color of My Voice.

Too Much World at Once

Too Much World at Once

By Billie Collins

An urgent coming-of-age story for our times, a lyrical, theatrical journey that spans continents and lives.

Travesty

Travesty

By Liam Williams

The debut play by Liam Williams, double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee - about gender and the ethical dimensions of modern love.

Tuesday

Tuesday

With a Welsh-language translation, Un Bore Mawrth

By Alison Carr Translated by Daf James

A funny and playful drama written specifically for young people, about what happens when the world literally turns upside-down. Bilingual edition: includes the original English play with a Welsh-language translation, Un Bore Mawrth, by playwright Daf James.

Ursa Major

Ursa Major

By Joe White

A heartbreakingly funny play about love, life and human connection, first performed as part of the Orange Tree Theatre's Inside/Outside season.

Published in volume Inside/Outside
    Us/Them

    Us/Them

    By Carly Wijs

    An extraordinary, award-winning account of the Beslan School Siege, exploring the entirely individual way children cope with traumatic situations.

    The Village

    The Village

    By Abi Falase and Tatenda Shamiso

    A punchy and provocative story about democracy, power, and how we can try to build a better world. In the Nick Hern Books Multiplay Drama series featuring large-cast plays specifically written to be performed by and appeal to young people.

    When This Is Over

    When This Is Over

    A Blueprint for Creating Your Own Production, and the Original Playscript

    By Ned Glasier, Sadeysa Greenaway-Bailey and Company Three

    A theatrical celebration of hope, possibility and imagination, designed to be created and performed by teenage casts, drawing directly on their own life experiences and the stories they want to tell. Winner, Outstanding Drama Initiative at the Music and Drama Education Awards.

    Where Sat the Lovers

    Where Sat the Lovers

    By Carys D. Coburn With MALAPROP Theatre

    A play about codes, hallucinations, Isaac Newton, war crimes, seeing meaning where there's none and vice versa. First staged by MALAPROP Theatre at the 2021 Dublin Fringe Festival.

    The White Bike

    The White Bike

    By Tamara von Werthern

    An affecting play, based on a true story, about what happens when our world is turned upside down.

    Wild Notes

    Wild Notes

    By Deirdre Kinahan

    A play exploring the impact of colonialism through a meeting between Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave and abolitionist who visited Ireland in the 1840s, and a young Irishwoman hoping to emigrate to the country he's running from.

    Wild Swimming

    Wild Swimming

    By Marek Horn

    A kaleidoscopic exploration of cultural progress, an interrogation of gender and privilege, and a wilfully ignorant history of English Literature.

    Wish List

    Wish List

    By Katherine Soper

    A sensitive, delicate and powerful play that asks what our labour is worth and how life can be lived when the system is stacked against you. Winner of the 2015 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

    Wolves Are Coming For You

    Wolves Are Coming For You

    By Joel Horwood

    A play for two actors – or many more – exploring just how much wild we're comfortable with.

    Women Centre Stage: Eight Short Plays By and About Women

    Women Centre Stage: Eight Short Plays By and About Women

    By Various Edited by Sue Parrish

    A collection of short plays curated by Sue Parrish, Artistic Director of Sphinx Theatre.

    Word-Play

    Word-Play

    By Rabiah Hussain

    A play about what happens when a Prime Minister ad-libs on live TV, exploring how language seeps into public consciousness and reverberates with far-reaching consequences that will last for generations. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London.

    Zoo and Twelve Comic Monologues for Women

    Zoo and Twelve Comic Monologues for Women

    By Lily Bevan

    A wildly inventive comedy drama about courage, female friendship and flamingos. This volume also includes twelve comic monologues for female performers.