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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 271-300 of 568 items.
Goodbye to All That

Goodbye to All That

By Luke Norris

A taut and tender debut play that asks if it's ever too late to start again.

Home

Home

By Nadia Fall

A powerful, inventive play exploring the issue of homelessness amongst young people.

Homos, or Everyone in America

Homos, or Everyone in America

By Jordan Seavey

A raw and provocative portrait of a love story, exploding attitudes, emotions and prejudices that sit at the heart of relationships across the world.

House + Amongst the Reeds: two plays

House + Amongst the Reeds: two plays

By Somalia Seaton and Chinonyerem Odimba

Two explosive plays about the need to be seen, commissioned by acclaimed theatre company Clean Break.

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

The Humans

By Stephen Karam

A powerful comedy-drama about a family gathering at Thanksgiving, from a gifted young American playwright.

A Hundred Words for Snow

A Hundred Words for Snow

By Tatty Hennessy

A play about a teenage girl's solo journey to the North Pole with her father's ashes.

I Am Shakespeare

I Am Shakespeare

By Mark Rylance

A fascinating, witty and characteristically exuberant dramatic exploration of the Shakespeare authorship debate.

I Wanna Be Yours

I Wanna Be Yours

By Zia Ahmed

A tender, funny, lyrical debut play about finding love and holding onto it with everything you've got, premiered by Paines Plough and Tamasha.

Imperium: The Cicero Plays

Imperium: The Cicero Plays

By Robert Harris Adapted by Mike Poulton

A backstage view of Ancient Rome at its most bloody and brutal, adapted by Mike Poulton from Robert Harris's bestselling The Cicero Trilogy.

An Intervention

An Intervention

By Mike Bartlett

A touching, funny play about what happens when you hate your best friend.

Intimate Apparel

Intimate Apparel

By Lynn Nottage

Lynn Nottage's Intimate Apparel is a multi-award-winning play about the empowerment of Esther, a seamstress in 1905 New York who creates exquisite lingerie for both Fifth Avenue boudoirs and Tenderloin bordellos.

Inventing the Truth: Devising and Directing for the Theatre

Inventing the Truth: Devising and Directing for the Theatre

By Mike Bradwell

An invaluable guide to the difficult arts of devising plays and directing texts, by one of the UK’s leading theatre directors.

Jekyll & Hyde

Jekyll & Hyde (National Youth Theatre version)

By Evan Placey Original author Robert Louis Stevenson

A radical re-imagining by playwright Evan Placey of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, written for the National Youth Theatre.

Jerusalem

Jerusalem

By Jez Butterworth

Jez Butterworth's hugely acclaimed, prize-winning play - a comic, contemporary vision of life in England's green and pleasant land.

Jumpers for Goalposts

Jumpers for Goalposts

By Tom Wells

A hilarious and heart-warming comedy about football, friendship and finding your way.

Junkyard

Junkyard

By Jack Thorne

A brilliantly honest and witty coming-of-age drama, with music by Stephen Warbeck.

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

King Charles III

King Charles III

By Mike Bartlett

Mike Bartlett's 'future history play' explores the people beneath the crowns, the unwritten rules of our democracy, and the conscience of Britain's most famous family.

Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

By David Bowie and Enda Walsh

The extraordinary musical inspired by the book The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis and its cult film adaptation starring David Bowie, and incorporating some of Bowie's most iconic songs.

Leave Taking

Leave Taking

By Winsome Pinnock

Two generations. Three incredible women. An epic story of what we leave behind in order to find home.

Let the Right One In

Let the Right One In (stage version)

By John Ajvide Lindqvist Adapted by Jack Thorne

A dark and visceral coming-of-age vampire love story, based on the acclaimed novel and film.

The Light Burns Blue

The Light Burns Blue

By Silva Semerciyan

A play inspired by the true story of the Cottingley Fairies. Part of Platform, a series of big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by school, college and youth-theatre groups.

Little Revolution

Little Revolution

By Alecky Blythe

An explosive verbatim play about the 2011 London Riots, by the author of the award-winning London Road.

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.

Love and Information

Love and Information

By Caryl Churchill

From one of the UK's most influential playwrights - a fast moving kaleidoscope in which more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know.

The Mandate

The Mandate

By Nikolai Erdman Adapted by Declan Donnellan

A chillingly grotesque farce set in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution.

Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off

By Liz Lochhead

A modern classic about the bitter rivalry between Mary, Queen of Scots, and her cousin and fellow ruler, Elizabeth I of England - retold by Scotland's most popular playwright.

The Master Builder

The Master Builder

By Henrik Ibsen Adapted by David Edgar

An enthralling version of an unforgettable Ibsen classic.

Mermaid

Mermaid

By Polly Teale

A bold reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's tale of love, loss and desire, transported to a contemporary setting.

  • Paperback£10.99 £8.79
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£10.99 £8.79
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Miss Julie & Creditors

Miss Julie & Creditors

Two plays by August Strindberg

By August Strindberg Translated by Howard Brenton

August 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.