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 19-36 of 143 items.
The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret

The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret

By Catherine Johnson

The alternating stories of two women (played by the same actress), both of whom 'lose' their sons - one murdered, the other a runaway.

Published in volume Singular Female Voices
    Unsuspecting Susan

    Unsuspecting Susan

    By Stewart Permutt

    A monologue play about a middle-aged woman whose adult son has converted to Islam.

    Published in volume Singular Female Voices
      My Name is Rachel Corrie

      My Name is Rachel Corrie

      By Rachel Corrie Edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner

      The moving account of the life and early death of a young female activist, adapted from her own writings.

      Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

      Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

      By Jack Thorne

      Two troubled, disturbing but bleakly funny plays from a leading writer of Channel 4's Shameless and Skins.

      random

      random

      By debbie tucker green

      An urgent play about the senseless killing of a black schoolboy, from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British playwriting.

      Limbo

      Limbo

      By Declan Feenan

      A monologue play in which a 17-year-old girl tells us the story of her relationship with an older man and what it led to.

      Published in volume St Petersburg and other plays
        Eight

        Eight

        By Ella Hickson

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

        About a Goth

        About a Goth

        By Tom Wells

        A short play about a young man who volunteers in old people's homes, and suffers paroxyms of love and hate for the residents.

        Published in volume Me, As A Penguin
          Notes for First Time Astronauts

          Notes for First Time Astronauts

          By Tom Wells

          A comic monologue warning of the perils of self-abuse in zero gravity conditions.

          Published in volume Me, As A Penguin
            Bunny

            Bunny

            By Jack Thorne

            An exhilarating coming-of-age drama for a solo performer.

            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
              Tuesdays at Tesco's

              Tuesdays at Tesco's

              By Emmanuel Darley Translated by Matthew Hurt and Sarah Vermande

              A touching one-person play about a person's true identity, the first English-language adaptation of Emmanuel Darley's hit play, Le Mardi à Monoprix.

              • Paperback£7.99 £6.39
                There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
              • Ebook£7.99 £6.39
                Add to basket
              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.

              Leavings

              Leavings

              By Jez Butterworth

              A short monologue play from the author of Jerusalem.

              Published in volume Jez Butterworth Plays: One
                The Naked Eye

                The Naked Eye

                By Jez Butterworth

                A short monologue play from the author of Jerusalem.

                Published in volume Jez Butterworth Plays: One
                  Spacewang

                  Spacewang

                  By Tom Wells

                  A monologue play in which a teenage girl roams the streets of Withernsea in search of aliens.

                  Published in volume The Kitchen Sink
                    Shakespeare's Will

                    Shakespeare's Will

                    By Vern Thiessen

                    Vern Thiessen, winner of the Governor General's Award for his play Einstein's Gift, gives a voice to one of the most silent characters in history: Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare.

                    • Paperback£21.99
                      There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
                    Misterman

                    Misterman

                    By Enda Walsh

                    A virtuosic study of one man's descent into religious mania in small-town Ireland. This edition was published alongside the 2012 production at the National Theatre starring Cillian Murphy.

                    Top Titles

                    See our top titles for actors, teachers, directors and more...