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.
the end of history...
A play about families, parenting, and gigantic clashes of values.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Changing Room
By Chris BushA play about being a teenager, written specifically for young people, part of the 2018 National Theatre Connections Festival.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Citysong and other plays
The Verity Bargate Award-winning play about three generations of a Dublin family, plus two other plays: Boys and Girls and Drawing Crosses on a Dusty Windowpane.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.Ebook£12.99£10.39The Starry Messenger
A bittersweet exploration of love, hope and the mysteries of the cosmos.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59Lose Yourself
A fast and wild ride into the darker side of our celebrity obsessed culture.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Playwriting
Structure, Character, How and What to Write
An authoritative guide to playwrighting, by a true master of the craft. Indispensable for playwrights at every level of experience.
- Paperback
£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£16.99£13.59Small Island (English Mastery Secondary set text)
By Andrea Levy Adapted by Helen EdmundsonA stage version of Andrea Levy's epic novel tracing the tangled history of Jamaica and Britain - set text edition for the English Mastery Secondary programme.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Three Sisters
By Anton Chekhov Adapted by Cordelia LynnCordelia Lynn's version of Chekhov's play, about three sisters trapped in a provincial town, waiting for their lives to begin.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Ghost Stories (stage version)
By Jeremy Dyson and Andy NymanThe terrifying stageplay and worldwide cult phenomenon about a Professor of Parapsychology whose rationality is tested to breaking point – and beyond.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Caryl Churchill Plays: Five
The fifth volume of the collected plays of one of our finest playwrights.
- Paperback
£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£16.99£13.59Miss Julie & Creditors
Two plays by August Strindberg
By August Strindberg Translated by Howard BrentonAugust Strindberg's classic portrayals of secrets and lies, seduction and power – both written in the summer of 1888 – in brilliant new versions by Howard Brenton.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Mary's Babies
A provocative, funny and fascinating play, inspired by the true story of Mary Barton and her husband Bertold Wiesner, pioneers of fertility treatment.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Wolfie
By Ross WillisA wildly imaginative, irreverent look at life in and after the care system.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59Downstate
By Bruce NorrisA provocative play about four men convicted of sex crimes, from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Clybourne Park.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Alys, Always (stage version)
By Harriet Lane Adapted by Lucinda CoxonA psychological thriller, adapted for the stage from Harriet Lane's gripping novel.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Company: The Complete Revised Book and Lyrics
By George Furth and Stephen SondheimPublished alongside the acclaimed, reimagined West End revival in 2018, this edition of Sondheim's hit musical features the complete revised book and lyrics for the production, plus colour production photographs.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79
Princess & The Hustler
A play about a cheeky 10-year-old with a plan to win the Weston-super-Mare Beauty Contest, against the backdrop of Black British Civil Rights marches in 1960s Bristol.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Female
Edited by Trilby JamesForty fantastic female speeches for teenagers, all written since the year 2000, by some of the most exciting and acclaimed writers working today.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Male
Edited by Trilby JamesForty fantastic male speeches for teenagers, all written since the year 2000, by some of the most exciting and acclaimed writers working today.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39Cougar
A startling play about what – and who – we consume.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99soft animals
A tender and unflinching story about motherhood, self-destruction and the way women help each other heal.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59A Hundred Words for Snow
A play about a teenage girl's solo journey to the North Pole with her father's ashes.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Superhoe
By Nicôle LeckyThe hit stage play behind the BAFTA-winning BBC TV drama series Mood, about a twenty-something who spends all her time on social media while dreaming of becoming a success.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Cost of Living
Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an exquisitely original, honest and deftly funny play that explores our need to connect and be loved regardless of the gulfs that disability, race, class, and wealth place between us.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59
Original Death Rabbit
By Rose HeineyA painfully funny play, shining a light on one woman's struggle with the dark side of the internet
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Sweat
By Lynn NottageA topical reflection of the present and poignant outcome of America's economic decline. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Best Play at the 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Awards.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79
Drip
By Tom Wells By (composer) Matthew RobinsA 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.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Messiah
A hilarious Christmas comedy that conjures up the sublime, the ridiculous and the truly angelic.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Snowflake
An epic story about generational conflict, fathers and daughters, and whether we're living in the best or worst of times.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Switzerland
A gripping psychological thriller, filled with razor-sharp dialogue.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59
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