New Acquisitions

Amateur performing rights for the following plays have recently been acquired by Nick Hern Books, and they will be available for performance once the performing rights have been released.

If you have a particular interest in any of the plays that appear here, please enquire about availability to the Performing Rights Manager.

Showing 29-56 of 83 items.

Steel

2m (playing 17-year-old boys)

A hilarious and heartfelt play set in West Cumbria, about first loves, forging identities and the wild, wild hearts of teenage boys. First performed at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, in 2024.

The New Real

4f 5m doubling (larger cast possible, up to 24 actors)

An epic, panoramic play about how the political fault-line has been redrawn. Premiered by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Headlong in 2024.

Dizzy

1f 2m (plus two voices that can be pre-recorded)

A fantastical, theatrical adventure through the underground world of street art and the hidden patterns in our universe. Premiered on UK tour by Theatre Centre and Sheffield Theatres in 2024.

Giant

3f 3m plus 1m voice only

A stage play exploring the life and legacy of that fiendishly charismatic icon, Roald Dahl. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2024 and transferring to the West End in 2025. Winner of Best New Play at both the Olivier and Critics' Circle Theatre Awards.

Princess Essex

Large mixed cast, 60+ characters (can be performed by a cast of 14, doubling)

A riotous, satirical comedy based on the amazing true story of the first woman of colour to enter a beauty pageant in the UK. First performed at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in 2024.

Sandpaper on Sunburn

4f 1m

The personal becomes political in a funny and fascinating play exploring identity and family. Premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival in September 2024.

Brace Brace

1f 2m

A gripping play about the people we become in the aftermath of catastrophe. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2024.

Here in America

2f 2m

A compelling new drama that imagines a confrontation between two giants of stage and screen, Elia Kazan and Arthur Miller. Premiering at the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, in September 2024.

A Doll's House (Sheffield Theatres version)

3f 3m

A taut and gripping adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's powerful drama, premiered at the Crucible, Sheffield Theatres, in 2024.

The Real Ones

1f 3m

A funny and honest stage play about platonic soulmates. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2024.

The Lightest Element

3f 5-8m

A stage drama about Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the most eminent astronomers of the twentieth century. Premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2024.

Peanut Butter & Blueberries

1f 1m

A tender and bittersweet love story that explores how to love when the weight of the world is on your shoulders. First performed at Kiln Theatre, London, in 2024.

failure project

1f playing multiple characters (plus some characters in voiceover)

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.

Through the Mud

2f (playing multiple characters)

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.

Bellringers

2m

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.

My Mother's Funeral: The Show

2f 1m (playing 20 characters)

A play exploring the inequalities we face around death, and the cost of turning your loved ones into art. Premiered by Paines Plough in 2024.

The Outrun (stage version)

By Stef Smith Original author Amy Liptrot
2f 2-4m plus optional chorus

The bestselling memoir brought to life in a stage adaptation premiered at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2024.

Reunion

5f 5m

An exhilarating, high-wire drama about the deep currents of family life, set over a family reunion on an island off the west coast of Ireland. Premiered at Galway International Arts Festival in 2024.

Shout

Flexible casting (20+ named characters)

A funny, moving drama about anxiety, celebrating difference, and finding your voice as a teenager. Part of the 2024 National Theatre Connections Festival.

The Secret Garden (Open Air Theatre version)

6f 6m

A thrillingly adventurous adaptation of the beloved and radical story about the magic of nature and the nature of magic, premiered at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in 2024.

My Father's Fable

2f 2m plus 1m pre-recorded

A gripping story of grief, belonging, and a family on the edge from Alfred Fagon Award-winner Faith Omole. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2024.

Surrender

1f

A gripping play about a woman trying to survive in a punishing and dysfunctional penal system that has separated her from her daughter. Premiered at the Arcola Theatre, London, in 2024.

Some Demon

5f 1m

A grippingly authentic play about living with an eating disorder, winner of the 2023 Papatango New Writing Prize.

Bindweed

2f 4m with specified doubling

A shattering and darkly funny play about responsibility and rehabilitation, which looks at what can be done to tackle abuse at its root. Winner of the Judges' Award at the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2022.

A Child of Science

5-16f 6-16m plus optional extras

A play about one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of our time: the procedure that led to the first 'test-tube baby' and the creation of IVF.

Fanny

3-5f 3-11m

A joyful and irreverent comedy about Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny, celebrating music, family and – at last – the work of a composer overlooked because of her sex.

The Bounds

1f 2m plus 1 boy

A darkly comedic tale of national divides, folk horror and the end of the world as we know it. Premiered at Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Royal Court Theatre, London.

The Women of Llanrumney

3f 1-3m

A powerful, searing drama that explores the impact of slavery and the lives of women who experienced it. Premiered at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.

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