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 25-48 of 147 items.
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.

Decade

Decade

Two towers. Ten years. Twenty plays.

By Various

Ten years after 9/11, twenty international writers respond to the defining event of our times.

Drawing Crosses on a Dusty Windowpane

Drawing Crosses on a Dusty Windowpane

By Carys D. Coburn

A play about losing someone close to you, about the human need to remember and connect.

Dreaming and Drowning

Dreaming and Drowning

By Kwame Owusu

An intimate and visceral play that dives into the mind of a young Black queer man wrestling with anxiety. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023.

Drip

Drip

By Tom Wells By (composer) Matthew Robins

A one-man musical comedy about a fifteen-year-old boy who finds himself in deep water when he joins a synchronised swimming team, even though he can't swim.

Drip Feed

Drip Feed

By Karen Cogan

An infectious, dark comedy monologue play about the messiness of being young(ish), female and queer.

Duologue

Duologue

By Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan's Duologue is a short monologue play for a female actor in which a woman reminisces movingly about her dead husband.

Published in volume Who is Sylvia? and Duologue
    Eight

    Eight

    By Ella Hickson

    Eight compelling monologues offering a state-of-the-nation group portrait for the stage.

    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.

    England & Son

    England & Son

    By Ed Edwards

    A one-man play about disaster capitalism, empire, Thatcherite politics, stolen youth, stolen wealth and a working-class boy who just wants his dad to smile at him. First performed by the celebrated political comedian Mark Thomas in Paines Plough's Roundabout during the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

    failure project

    failure project

    By Yolanda Mercy

    A warm and witty one-person play exploring grief, the strings attached to success, and what it means to 'fail'. Premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2024.

    Fanboy

    Fanboy

    By Joe Sellman-Leava

    A five-star hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, Fanboy is a love-hate letter to pop culture and nostalgia, about a thirty-something, self-confessed nerd obsessed with Star Wars and Nintendo.

    Far Gone

    Far Gone

    By John Rwothomack

    A profoundly moving play about a young Ugandan boy's journey from childhood innocence to child soldier, seen through the eyes of those that love him and those that betray him.

    Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen

    Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen

    By Marcelo Dos Santos

    A dark and biting one-man, a huge hit at Edinburgh in 2022 and the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023, starring Samuel Barnett.

    Finsbury Park

    Finsbury Park

    By Stephen Jeffreys

    A short autobiographical monologue, first performed as part of the Come to Where I'm From festival at the Park Theatre, London, in 2016.

    First Time

    First Time

    By Nathaniel J Hall

    A hilarious and heartbreaking true story that smashes through the stigma and shame of HIV, to present an uplifting and inspirational guide to staying positive in a negative world.

    Five Years with the White Man

    Five Years with the White Man

    By Eloka Obi and Saul Boyer

    A startling play about satirist ABC Merriman-Labor, the greatest Black Briton ever to have been forgotten.

    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.

    Fleabag: The Special Edition

    Fleabag: The Special Edition

    By Phoebe Waller-Bridge

    A special edition of the outrageously funny, blazingly forthright stage play, featuring exclusive bonus material.

    Fleabag: The Welsh Edition

    Fleabag: The Welsh Edition

    By Phoebe Waller-Bridge Adapted by Branwen Davies

    A Welsh language adaptation of the hit play by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, first staged by Theatr Clwyd in 2023.

    Flyin' West and Other Plays

    Flyin' West and Other Plays

    By Pearl Cleage

    A collection of work for the stage that provides a remarkable and penetrating look at the African-American experience over the last 100 years.

    • Paperback£18.99
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    For All I Care

    For All I Care

    By Alan Harris

    A fast-moving, touchingly funny play about two very different women, both having a very bad day.

    • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
      There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
    • Ebook£9.99 £7.99
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    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
      Glee & Me

      Glee & Me

      By Stuart Slade

      A touching drama about a teenage girl diagnosed with a brain tumour, an unexpectedly optimistic portrayal of love and the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.