Nick Hern Books

UPDATE, 1pm Friday 19 March – this 40% Off Sale has now finished. Thank you so much to everyone who took part!

Choose from hundreds of top plays and books, and support freelancers affected by the impact of COVID-19


On 16 March 2020, as the COVID pandemic continued to spread across the UK, hundreds of theatres nationwide were forced to shut their doors. At the time, we all thought it would only be for a few weeks – but incredibly, a full year on, these treasured stages are still dark. That was also the day we temporarily shut down the NHB office, as our team switched to working remotely. Twelve months later, those doors remain closed, too.

So as the theatre community prepares to mark this unexpected anniversary, we've ventured back to NHB HQ to raid our shelves and offer you the chance to save 40% on hundreds of great playscripts and theatre books, and raise money for hard-hit theatre-workers and freelancers, in our special Sale.

Due to incredible demand, we've extended the Sale by an extra 24 hours, so it now finishes at 1pm GMT on Friday 19 March. No voucher code is required – just fill your basket with as many of the brilliant titles below as you like, head to checkout, and your discount will be automatically applied. This offer applies to paperback and hardback editions only (ebooks are not included), and all orders over £40 receive free UK delivery.

Plus, £1 from every book sold in our Sale will go to the Theatre Artists Fund, which continues to provide emergency support for theatre-workers and freelancers across the UK affected by the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the theatre sector.

We've put together an incredible selection of almost SIX HUNDRED titles, all currently available at 40% off – choose from famous, award-winning hits; wonderful, lesser-known plays we just know you'll love; brilliant shows that were sadly forced to close due to COVID; books to develop your skills or learn new ones; fascinating reads by leading names, and much more.

Pick up something you always had your eye on at a special price, or try something you've never heard of before – who knows, you might be about to discover your new favourite writer...

Everything included in the Sale has been handpicked from the shelves at NHB HQ, and stock is strictly limited. So if you see something you want, move fast to avoid missing out – because once it's gone, it's gone!

Head to the bottom of this page the entire range – or check out our curated Sale Selections, bringing together books and playscripts on different subjects and themes – and be sure to grab your bargains before our Sale ends on Friday.

It's been a really rough year for everyone connected to theatre, but we've been constantly inspired by the resilience and creativity shown by so many across the community, and with venues starting to announce re-opening plans, there's genuine hope that the lights might come back on soon. So join us to celebrate the art form we all love, and thank you for helping support freelancers at this really difficult time.

Some key info:

  • This Sale runs from 1pm GMT on Tuesday 16 March to 1pm GMT on Friday 19 March only.
  • Only titles listed on this page are available at a 40% discount. This offer applies to the physical editions (paperback, hardback and CD) only; ebooks are not included.
  • Stock of all titles included in the Sale is strictly limited. If your order contains a title that has already sold out, we will get in touch to ask if you would like to: a) swap for an item of the same value, or b) receive a refund for the value of that item.
  • All Sale orders will be dispatched from Monday 22 March. From this point, our standard delivery times will apply – please click here for more information.
  • £1 from every book sold will be donated to the Theatre Artists Fund, which provides emergency support for theatre workers and freelancers across the UK.

With almost six hundred titles included in our Sale, there's a lot to choose from.

So to help you browse through what's available, we've put together fifteen curated selections of playscripts and books on different subjects and themes, and for different readers – each packed with fantastic titles we just know you'll love. Explore tailored lists for actors, backstage practitioners and drama teachers, plays impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic you can still enjoy on the page, plays in translation, adaptations, tie-in and special editions, and more.

Click here to browse the selections – or see below for the entire range of what's available at the 40% discount.
Showing 181-210 of 567 items.
Fibres

Fibres

By Frances Poet

A big-hearted, hilarious drama about what it means to entwine our lives with another, told by four resilient, witty Glaswegian characters.

Finding Your Voice

Finding Your Voice

A step-by-step guide for actors

By Barbara Houseman

A simple, step-by-step manual, written by an RSC voice coach, which offers everything that an actor needs to work on their voice.

The Fishermen

The Fishermen (stage version)

By Chigozie Obioma Adapted by Gbolahan Obisesan

A powerful allegory of brotherhood, vengeance and fate set in a small Nigerian town. Adapted from the Man Booker Prize-shortlisted novel.

Fishskin Trousers

Fishskin Trousers

By Elizabeth Kuti

A haunting play about loss and grief, set in the mists of Suffolk. Also contains the short plays Enter A Gentleman and Time Spent on Trains.

Flare Path

Flare Path

By Terence Rattigan

A moving story of love and loyalty, courage and fear, based on Terence Rattigan's own experiences as a tail gunner in the Second World War.

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.

Flesh and Bone

Flesh and Bone

By Elliot Warren

A vivid and fast-paced ride through a working-class London estate, fusing Shakespeare-inspired lyricism with Cockney accents.

The Flick

The Flick

By Annie Baker

Annie Baker's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about three cinema attendants - 'Wondrous, devastating, hilarious, and infinitely touching. A play to be treasured' New York Times.

Follies

Follies

By Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman

Sondheim's landmark musical about a reunion of showgirls, with a book by James Goldman.

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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Forever House

Forever House

By Glenn Waldron

A darkly comic drama of buried secrets and new beginnings, with three linked scenes all set in the same terraced house.

Four Play

Four Play

By Jake Brunger

A comic play about sex and commitment in the 21st century.

Freak

Freak

By Anna Jordan

A punchy and provocative new play by the Bruntwood Prize-winning author of Yen.

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice

Freeing Shakespeare's Voice

The Actor's Guide to Talking the Text

By Kristin Linklater

A practical approach to breaking through the barriers of restraint and incomprehension when faced with Shakespeare.

Freeing the Natural Voice

Freeing the Natural Voice

By Kristin Linklater

The classic voice-training book for actors, teachers of voice and speech and anyone interested in vocal expression – by a pre-eminent voice teacher, actor and director.

The Funeral Director

The Funeral Director

By Iman Qureshi

An incisive and heartfelt play about sexuality, gender and religion in twenty-first-century Britain. Winner of the 2018 Papatango New Writing Prize.

Gambon

Gambon

A Life in Acting

By Mel Gussow

A unique collection of interviews with Sir Michael Gambon, ranging over thirteen years, offering a fascinating picture of this most mischievously evasive of actors.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£8.99 £7.19
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Game

Game

By Mike Bartlett

A provocative play that invites us to spy on a family as they embark on a dangerous new way to live.

Genesis Inc.

Genesis Inc.

By Jemma Kennedy

An explosively funny comedy that takes a closer look at the lengths to which people will go to defy biology – and at the moral compass of an industry that trades on fear and hope.

Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories (stage version)

By Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman

The terrifying stageplay and worldwide cult phenomenon about a Professor of Parapsychology whose rationality is tested to breaking point – and beyond.

Girls and Dolls

Girls and Dolls

By Lisa McGee

A striking play from Northern Ireland about two women and the childhood tragedy they'll never be allowed to forget.

Girls Like That

Girls Like That

By Evan Placey

An urgent and explosive play that explores of the pressures on young people today in the wake of advancing technology.

Girls Like That and other plays for teenagers

Girls Like That and other plays for teenagers

By Evan Placey

Four urgent and explosive plays by award-winning playwright Evan Placey, each tackling issues facing young people today.

Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp.

Glass. Kill. Bluebeard. Imp.

By Caryl Churchill

A girl made of glass. Gods and murders. A serial killer's friends. And a secret in a bottle. Four stories by Caryl Churchill.

Gloria

Gloria

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

A razor-sharp comic drama about ambition, office warfare and hierarchies, where the only thing that matters is selling out to the highest bidder.

Glory Dazed

Glory Dazed

By Cat Jones

A moving and darkly comic story of an Afghanistan veteran's search for redemption, and a fascinating insight into the plight of ex-servicemen in modern Britain.

  • 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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Glory on Earth

Glory on Earth

By Linda McLean

A historical drama about the 18-year-old Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and the protestant reformer, John Knox.

Goats

Goats

By Liwaa Yazji Translated by Katharine Halls

A play about the impact of war on a small town in Syria, by a leading Syrian playwright and documentary film-maker.

  • 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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God's Dice

God's Dice

By David Baddiel

Science and religion go head to head in this electric tragicomedy: a ferociously funny battle for power, fame and followers.