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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 1-30 of 568 items.
Edgar: Shorts

Edgar: Shorts

By David Edgar

A collection of shorter plays from stage and television by one of the UK's foremost political playwrights.

Playing for Time

Playing for Time

By Arthur Miller

The extraordinary story of the women's orchestra in Auschwitz, originally filmed for television with Vanessa Redgrave, and adapted for the stage by Miller himself.

Long Day's Journey into Night

Long Day's Journey into Night

By Eugene O'Neill

A true modern classic from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers.

  • Paperback£8.99 £7.19
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Cyrano de Bergerac

Cyrano de Bergerac

By Edmond Rostand Translated by Anthony Burgess

The nineteenth-century French classic about the swordsman-poet with the nose too large to be taken seriously, in an acclaimed English translation by Anthony Burgess.

Sweeney Todd

Sweeney Todd

By Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler

The gruesomely fascinating musical about the 'Demon Barber of Fleet Street', one of Sondheim's greatest hits.

Laban for Actors and Dancers

Laban for Actors and Dancers

Putting Laban's Movement Theory into Practice - A Step-by-Step Guide

By Jean Newlove

A handbook, complete with graded exercises, for teachers and students wanting a practical introduction to Laban's famous system of movement.

Masterclass: Men

Masterclass: Men

The Actor's Audition Manual

By Dean Carey

An extensive guide to acting, followed by close to a hundred audition pieces chosen from the whole of world drama.

Masterclass: Women

Masterclass: Women

The Actor's Audition Manual

By Dean Carey

An extensive guide to acting, followed by close to a hundred audition pieces chosen from the whole of world drama.

Desire Under the Elms & The Great God Brown

Desire Under the Elms & The Great God Brown

By Eugene O'Neill

Two plays from one of the twentieth century's most significant writers, developed and conceived in tandem, drawing on the raw experience of the author's own family relationships.

A Little Night Music

A Little Night Music

By Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler

An utterly sophisticated and charming musical boasting such numbers as 'Send in the Clowns' and 'A Weekend in the Country'.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
A Good Night Out

A Good Night Out

Popular Theatre: Audience, Class and Form

By John McGrath

The classic manifesto on popular theatre by the founder of the 7:84 Theatre Companies.

Stanley

Stanley

By Pam Gems

A brilliant and painfully truthful portrait of Stanley Spencer, the wayward genius of modern British painting.

  • Paperback£10.99 £8.79
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
East is East

East is East

By Ayub Khan Din

A wonderful comedy about growing up in multiracial Salford.

Caryl Churchill Plays: Three

Caryl Churchill Plays: Three

By Caryl Churchill

Spanning almost ten years and embracing a remarkable range of style and subject matter, this is the third volume of Churchill's Collected Plays,

The Deep Blue Sea

The Deep Blue Sea

By Terence Rattigan

Written in the early fifties when Rattigan was at the height of his powers, The Deep Blue Sea is a powerful account of lives blighted by love - or the lack of it.

The House of Bernarda Alba

The House of Bernarda Alba

By Federico García Lorca Translated by Rona Munro

García Lorca's drama about the shattering effects of emotional repression on a family of cloistered daughters, in a version by playwright Rona Munro for the critically acclaimed Shared Experience Theatre Company.

The Winslow Boy

The Winslow Boy

By Terence Rattigan

Rattigan's 1946 play based on the real-life court case of a young naval cadet unjustly accused of stealing a five-shilling postal order.

Wit

Wit

By Margaret Edson

A striking and sharply funny reflection on the frailty of existence and the complex relationship between knowledge and love.

Kes

Kes (stage version)

By Barry Hines Adapted by Lawrence Till

A tried-and-tested stage adaptation of Barry Hines' novel A Kestrel for a Knave, about a troubled young boy who finds and trains a kestrel.

Beyond Stanislavsky

Beyond Stanislavsky

The Psycho-Physical Approach to Actor Training

By Bella Merlin

A guide to Psycho-Physical Acting, complete with games and exercises.

bedbound & misterman: two plays

bedbound & misterman: two plays

By Enda Walsh

Two early plays from the acclaimed Irish writer Enda Walsh.

Through The Body

Through The Body

A Practical Guide to Physical Theatre

By Dymphna Callery

A step-by-step guide to Physical Theatre in both theory and practice - full of detailed exercises and inspiring ideas.

The Ground On Which I Stand

The Ground On Which I Stand

By August Wilson

A passionate and controversial call for black cultural separatism, from the author of the Olivier award-winning Jitney and the Pulitzer Prize-winning King Hedley II.

  • Paperback£6.99 £5.59
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
The Weir

The Weir

By Conor McPherson

The spellbinding, beautifully observed hit from the master of suspenseful realism.

The Night Heron

The Night Heron

By Jez Butterworth

A dark, funny, spellbinding play about a group of outcasts and eccentrics gathered in the Cambridgeshire fens.

  • 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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Vincent in Brixton

Vincent in Brixton

By Nicholas Wright

A moving portrait of the young Vincent van Gogh - a hit in the West End and on Broadway.

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 Browning Version

The Browning Version

By Terence Rattigan

Rattigan's well-loved play about an unpopular schoolmaster who snatches a last shred of dignity from the collapse of his career and his marriage.

Evoking (and forgetting!) Shakespeare

Evoking (and forgetting!) Shakespeare

By Peter Brook

Renowned theatre director Peter Brook on the essential questions facing anyone performing Shakespeare today.

100

100

By Christopher Heimann, Neil Monaghan and Diene Petterle

A strikingly original play combining traditional storytelling with physical theatre, created by The Imaginary Body. Winner of a Fringe First Award at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.