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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 91-120 of 568 items.
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.

So You Want To Be A TV Presenter?

So You Want To Be A TV Presenter?

By Kathryn Wolfe

A practical, vocational guide to starting a career on TV as a presenter, packed with accessible advice and top tips to ensure success.

Love the Sinner

Love the Sinner

By Drew Pautz

A tense and provocative play offering a remarkably fresh and painful take on our perpetual guilt in the face of poverty and brutality in the developing world.

Penelope

Penelope

By Enda Walsh

A savage, tragicomic take on the classic Greek myth of Penelope, wife of Odysseus.

Anne Boleyn

Anne Boleyn

By Howard Brenton

A celebration of a great English heroine, Anne Boleyn dramatises the life and legacy of Henry VIII's notorious second wife, who helped change the course of the nation's history.

Bunny

Bunny

By Jack Thorne

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

Scottish Shorts

Scottish Shorts

Edited by Philip Howard

A collection of nine very different short plays by three remarkable generations of Scottish writers, ideal performance in studio theatres and at festivals.

  • Paperback£10.99 £8.79
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£10.99 £8.79
    Add to basket
Drama Games for Those Who Like to Say No

Drama Games for Those Who Like to Say No

By Chris Johnston

A dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book for teachers and workshop leaders working with difficult or reluctant students, youth groups, young offenders, and all those who seem intent on saying 'no' to whatever is offered them.

The Master Builder

The Master Builder

By Henrik Ibsen Adapted by David Edgar

An enthralling version of an unforgettable Ibsen classic.

A Moment Towards the End of the Play...

A Moment Towards the End of the Play...

An Autobiography

By Timothy West

A revised and expanded edition of the autobiography that has delighted readers and theatregoers since its first publication in 2001.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£9.99 £7.99
    Add to basket
Words Into Action

Words Into Action

Finding the Life of the Play

By William Gaskill

Packed with insights from a lifetime of directing theatre, Words into Action is a fascinating read and a vital masterclass for actors and directors.

Tribes

Tribes

By Nina Raine

A penetrating play about belonging, family and the limitations of communication.

The Price of Everything

The Price of Everything

By Fiona Evans

A tense and gripping drama, loaded with dark humour, about the price we pay for material possessions and the effect it has on those we love.

The Railway Children

The Railway Children (stage version)

By E. Nesbit Adapted by Mike Kenny

An imaginative stage adaptation of E. Nesbit's much-loved children's classic.

Shakespeare On Stage

Shakespeare On Stage

Thirteen Leading Actors on Thirteen Key Roles

By Julian Curry

Thirteen leading actors take us behind the scenes, each recreating in detail a memorable performance in one of Shakespeare's major roles.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (National Theatre stage version)

By Lucy Kirkwood and Katie Mitchell

Lucy Kirkwood's delightful version of the classic fairytale, first seen in a production devised and directed by Katie Mitchell at the National Theatre for Christmas 2010.

Clybourne Park

Clybourne Park

By Bruce Norris

An acerbically brilliant satire that explores the fault line between race and property.

A Screen Acting Workshop

A Screen Acting Workshop

By Mel Churcher

A comprehensive training course in screen acting by an internationally renowned teacher and acting coach.

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.

Ecstasy

Ecstasy

By Mike Leigh

A play about loneliness, togetherness, longing, warmth and love.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Cause Célèbre

Cause Célèbre

By Terence Rattigan

Based on the true story of Alma Rattenbury, who, in 1935, went on trial with her eighteen-year-old lover for the murder of her husband. In the play, Terence Rattigan pits Alma against a formidable lady juror, whose own life offers a plangent counterpoint to the central tale of love, betrayal, guilt and obsession.

Ken Campbell: The Great Caper

Ken Campbell: The Great Caper

By Michael Coveney

The first, authorised biography of the anarchic comic genius, much cherished for his performances on stage and screen.

  • Paperback£14.99 £11.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£14.99 £11.99
    Add to basket
London Road

London Road

By Alecky Blythe and Adam Cork

An experimental and challenging work which reveals the ways in which even the darkest experiences can engender a greater sense of our mutual dependence.

Precious Little Talent & Hot Mess

Precious Little Talent & Hot Mess

By Ella Hickson

Two plays by award-winning playwright Ella Hickson.

Pandas

Pandas

By Rona Munro

A romantic-comedy-thriller about the heat of love and the magic of changing perspectives.

The City Madam

The City Madam (RSC edition)

By Philip Massinger

A waspish city comedy attacking the vices of hypocrisy, greed, self-indulgence and social pretension.

  • Paperback£9.99 £7.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
The League of Youth

The League of Youth

By Henrik Ibsen Adapted by Andy Barrett

Ibsen's political comedy, in a crisp and satirical version by Andy Barrett.

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing (West End edition)

By William Shakespeare Edited by Robert Hastie and Josie Rourke

A consummate romantic comedy that dramatises the battle of the sexes with a dazzling display of Shakespeare's wit and wordplay.

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

Luise Miller

By Friedrich Schiller Adapted by Mike Poulton

A masterpiece of power and politics that explores the battle between honour and corruption, between truth and betrayal.

Talking Theatre

Talking Theatre

Interviews with Theatre People

By Richard Eyre

A superlative account of how theatre is made, in the words of the very people who make it.