August is almost upon us, which can mean only one thing: it's nearly time for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival. Every year for three weeks, the Scottish capital finds itself at the absolute epicentre of the arts world – and NHB is proud to publish some of the very best theatre on offer at both festivals in 2018.

So to celebrate our line-up, we're offering you 30% off all of the plays we're publishing at Edinburgh 2018. To claim this discount, browse the full line-up and enter code NHBEDINBURGH18 at checkout when ordering via this website. This offer is valid until 31 August 2018. Don't miss out!

'★★★★★ - One of Nina Raine's most enjoyable and intelligent plays yet. Unreservedly recommended' Independent

'★★★★★ - A thrilling revenge drama… powerfully written, and both entertaining and
thought-provoking' The Arts Desk

'★★★★★ - This is a play you’ll be talking about for a long time to come' Radio Times

Why is Justice blind? Is she impartial? Or is she blinkered?

Friends Ed and Tim take opposing briefs in a rape case. The key witness is a woman whose life seems a world away from theirs. At home, their own lives begin to unravel as every version of the truth is challenged.

Consent, Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play, sifts the evidence from every side and puts Justice herself in the dock. It premiered as a co-production between the National Theatre and Out of Joint, directed by Roger Michell at the National Theatre in 2017, and transferred to the West End in 2018. The production runs at the Harold Pinter Theatre until 11 August 2018, find out more here.

To celebrate the hit West End transfer, we've teamed up with our friends at Sonia Friedman Productions to offer one lucky winner the chance to receive a pair of tickets to Consent at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London (subject to availability), plus a copy of the playscript.

To find out more, click here.

July sees the culmination of London's Pride Festival, with the annual Pride Parade taking place in the city on Saturday 7 July. To mark the occasion, we're launching a very special Pride Sale, running until the end of July.

From now until the end of the month, our website customers get 30% off a hand-picked selection of sixteeen NHB-published plays that capture, chronicle and celebrate LGBT+ experiences and voices.

Choose from a wide range of styles and subjects – from the epic sweep of Tony Kushner's landmark AIDS drama Angels in America, via the pungent hilarity of Kevin Elyot's award-winning comedy My Night with Reg, to the passionate polemic of Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart.

Also included is Queers, the kaleidoscopic series of short plays curated by Mark Gatiss for the BBC. We've got a limited number of copies signed by Mark Gatiss, available until they're all gone!

For a full list of the promoted titles, and to find out how to claim your 30% off, visit to our Pride Sale page here.

Ever since Nick Hern Books started in 1988, we've been a proud home to the very best playwrights and theatre-makers around, sharing their work with audiences across the UK and beyond.

2018 is a big one for us: we're officially 30 years old. And to mark this milestone, we invite you, our loyal readers, to join us for a special celebration: our 30th Birthday Sale!

From now until 10am, Wednesday 27 June, all NHB-published titles* are available at 50% off via our website.

Choose from our range of hundreds of playscripts including recent hits, modern greats and Drama Classics from around the world, fascinating and entertaining reads by leading practitioners, inspiring books on theatre-making skills such as acting, directing and writing, and much, much more.

Whatever your taste in theatre, we've got the perfect book for you.

It's our way of saying a big THANK YOU to all of you for reading our books and supporting us over the years – so check out our Sale page for inspiration, join our party and grab yourself a bargain.

But hurry: our 30th Birthday Sale ends 10am on Wednesday 27 June!

The acclaimed National Theatre production of Angels in America by Tony Kushner has won three Tony Awards at this year's ceremony, it was announced today (10 June).

The epic two-part play took home the Awards for Best Revival, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for Andrew Garfield's portrayal of Prior Walter and Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for Nathan Lane's Roy Cohn. Angels in America returned to the NT last year, twenty-five years after its premiere in 1992, before transferring to New York in February. The production also won Best Revival at this year's Olivier Awards.

NHB author Jack Thorne also picked up the Tony Award for Best Play for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two. The production premiered in London in 2016 and also received the Olivier Award for Best New Play.

To see the full list of winners, visit the Tony Awards website.

The nominees for The South Bank Sky Arts Awards 2018 were announced today (Tuesday 29 May), with Jez Butterworth's mighty play The Ferryman and Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's legendary musical Follies shortlisted in the Theatre category.

Set in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, in 1981, The Ferryman sees the Carney family's traditional harvest celebrations interrupted by the arrival of a visitor, whose shocking news threatens to unravel all they've built. After premiering to huge acclaim at the Royal Court Theatre in 2017, the play transferred to the West End's Gielgud Theatre for a year-long run, and will debut on Broadway this October. It has previously won Best Play at the Evening Standard Theatre Awards and Best New Play at the Olivier Awards, WhatsOnStage Awards and Critics' Circle Awards.

Sondheim and Goldman's landmark musical Follies is set in New York, 1971, the night before the iconic Weismann Theatre is to be demolished. Thirty years after their final performance, the Follies girls gather to have a few drinks, sing a few songs, and lie about themselves. Follies received a major revival at the National Theatre in 2017, directed by NHB author Dominic Cooke, and will return there in 2019.

Previous NHB winners of the Sky Arts Awards include Mike Bartlett's King Charles III and Jack Thorne's adaptation of John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let the Right One In.

The winners of this year's awards will be announced at a ceremony at The Savoy Hotel in London on Sunday 1 July 2018, which will be broadcast on Sky Arts later in the week. To see the full list of nominees, click here.

The nominees for the 2018 Theatre Book Prize were announced today (24 May), with Shakespeare on Stage: Volume 2 – Twelve Leading Actors on Twelve Key Roles making the five-title shortlist.

In the book, twelve renowned Shakespeare performers – including Roger Allam, Eileen Atkins, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ian McKellen, Alan Rickman, Patrick Stewart, Harriet Walter and Zoë Wanamaker – each recreate in detail their memorable performance in a major role. Get a taste of the book with these extracts.

The annual Theatre Book Prize is awarded by the Society of Theatre Research to a title of original research into any aspect of the history and technique of British or British-related theatre history and practice. This year's shortlist also includes books by former National Theatre head Nicholas Hytner and critic Michael Coveney.

To see the full list of nominees, plus more about the Prize, visit the STR website.

We're delighted to announce Amateur Theatre Fest: an exciting, brand-new, full-day event of workshops, talks and performances.

On Saturday 8 September 2018, join hundreds of other passionate amateur theatre-makers at The Questors Theatre, Ealing, West London, for a day-long programme that gives you the opportunity to:

- ENJOY a celebration of the UK’s incredible amateur theatre scene, and a chance to network with hundreds of fellow theatre-makers

- MEET and hear from leading names including as Simon Callow, Mike Bartlett, Amanda Whittington and Jez Butterworth

- LEARN skills for your own productions, with expert workshops on design, auditions, directing, singing, stage combat, voice, performing Shakespeare, marketing and more

For full information about the day, visit the Amateur Theatre Fest website.

Tickets to Amateur Theatre Fest go on sale at 12 noon on Tuesday 8 May. They'll initially be available at a special, time-limited Early Bird rate of £25 for individuals and £100 for groups of five. So spread the word, round up some friends, and come along to what promises to be a brilliant day.

Places at Amateur Theatre Fest are strictly limited, so be sure to book early to avoid disappointment.

Here at Nick Hern Books we're proud to work with so many talented and ambitious amateur theatre companies who license and perform the brilliant plays we publish. And as we celebrate our thirtieth anniversary in 2018, we can't wait to meet and celebrate with lots of you on 8 September. See you there!

NHB author Lucy Kirkwood's gripping, darkly funny drama The Children has been nominated for Best Play at the Tony Awards 2018, it was announced today (1 May).

The play focuses on two ageing nuclear scientists, living in an isolated cottage on the coast as the world around them crumbles. When an old friend arrives with a frightening request, they find themselves having to make a terrible decision. A sold-out hit at its premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2016, The Children won Best Play at the Writers' Guild Awards 2018 in January. Also nominated in the same category is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by NHB author Jack Thorne.

Elsewhere, the acclaimed National Theatre production of Angels in America by Tony Kushner is shortlisted in ten categories including Best Revival. The epic two-part play returned to the NT last year, twenty-five years after its premiere in 1992, before transferring to New York from February. The production also won Best Revival at this year's Olivier Awards.

Also nominated at this year's ceremony is NHB author Mark Rylance, who is up for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Farinelli and the King). This would be his third win in the category, having most recently won for his performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron in Jerusalem in 2011.

The winners of this year's Tony Awards will be announced on 10 June. To see the full list of nominees across every category, visit their website.

The recipients of the Olivier Awards 2018 were announced last night (8 April), with NHB-published plays and musicals picking up a total of nine prizes.

One of the night's big winners was Jez Butterworth's mighty drama The Ferryman, which bagged three awards: Best New Play, Best Director (Sam Mendes) and Best Actress (Laura Donnelly). This family epic, set in Northern Ireland in 1981, was first seen at the Royal Court before transferring for a twice-extended run at the Gielgud Theatre in London's West End, where it runs until May. It then opens on Broadway in October.

The National Theatre's acclaimed production of Angels in America by NHB author Tony Kushner won Best Revival and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Denise Gough). Returning to its original National Theatre home twenty-five years after its premiere, the production is now playing on Broadway.

Also at the National Theatre, Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's legendary musical Follies, directed by NHB author Dominic Cooke, was awarded Best Musical Revival and Best Costume Design (Vicki Mortimer). The production will return to the Olivier in 2019, with a cast recording also on the way.

Elsewhere in the musical categories, Girl from the North Country – written and directed by NHB author Conor McPherson, featuring the iconic songbook of Bob Dylan – won Best Actress in a Musical (Shirley Henderson) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical (Sheila Atim). Originally seen at the Old Vic Theatre, the production transferred to the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End, where it ran until March.

SPECIAL OFFER - SAVE 30% ON OLIVIER AWARDS WINNERS!

To celebrate their success at the Olivier Awards, we're offering you a 30% discount on the four winning NHB shows listed above!

To claim the discount, simply enter code OLIVIERS2018 at checkout when ordering via our site. This offer is valid until 13 April 2018.