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 481-510 of 568 items.
My Life in Pieces

My Life in Pieces (Hardback edition)

An Alternative Autobiography

By Simon Callow

An alternative autobiography of the well-loved actor and man of the theatre, winner of the Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre Biography.

  • Hardback£20.00 £16.00
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Stage Management

Stage Management

The Essential Handbook

By Gail Pallin

The highly successful "Bible for any stage manager", now in a revised and updated edition.

  • Paperback£16.99 £13.59
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£16.99 £13.59
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Cling To Me Like Ivy

Cling To Me Like Ivy

By Samantha Ellis

A sassy, offbeat comedy-drama about rebelling against your roots.

Arabian Nights

Arabian Nights (RSC stage version)

By Dominic Cooke

A simple and delightfully inventive re-telling of the stories from the Arabian Nights.

Mrs Klein

Mrs Klein

By Nicholas Wright

A play about the controversial psychoanalyst Melanie Klein, a haunting and poignant study of mother-daughter relationships.

A Tender Thing

A Tender Thing

By Ben Power

Another Romeo and another Juliet in a strikingly different love story.

it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now

it felt empty when the heart went at first but it is alright now

By Lucy Kirkwood

A play about modern-day sex trafficking, joint winner of the 2010 John Whiting Award.

Little Gem

Little Gem

By Elaine Murphy

A poignant and hilarious play about love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes, following three generations of women over one extraordinary year.

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.

Eight

Eight

By Ella Hickson

Eight compelling monologues offering a state-of-the-nation group portrait for the stage.

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.

Shakespeare Monologues for Men

Shakespeare Monologues for Men

By Luke Dixon

Fifty monologues for men drawn from across the Shakespeare canon, all prefaced with a summary of the vital information you need to place the piece in context and to perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way.

  • Paperback£12.99 £10.39
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£12.99 £10.39
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Shakespeare Monologues for Women

Shakespeare Monologues for Women

By Luke Dixon

Fifty monologues for women drawn from across the Shakespeare canon, all prefaced with a summary of the vital information you need to place the piece in context and to perform it to maximum effect in your own unique way.

Parlour Song

Parlour Song

By Jez Butterworth

A blackly hilarious exploration of deceit, paranoia and murderous desire, as the spirit of the Blues lands in leafy suburbia.

Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops

Drama Games for Classrooms and Workshops

By Jessica Swale

101 great drama games for use in any classroom or workshop setting. Part of the Nick Hern Books Drama Games series.

August: Osage County

August: Osage County

By Tracy Letts

A hugely-acclaimed black comedy exposing the dark side of the Midwestern American family. 

Lay Me Down Softly

Lay Me Down Softly

By Billy Roche

A heartfelt slice of life in small-town Ireland, brimming with passions and all-too-human foibles, from the author of the well-loved Wexford Trilogy.

Six Acts of Love

Six Acts of Love

By Ioanna Anderson

A bittersweet play about the rich complexities of life, love and death.

  • Paperback£8.99 £7.19
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Caryl Churchill Plays: Four

Caryl Churchill Plays: Four

By Caryl Churchill

The fourth volume of the collected plays of one of the best playwrights alive.

Caryl Churchill: Shorts

Caryl Churchill: Shorts

By Caryl Churchill

Ten short plays by Caryl Churchill, written for stage, radio and TV, selected and introduced by the author.

Educating Agnes

Educating Agnes

By Liz Lochhead

A dark and wickedly funny farce about one man's twisted attempts to find a woman he can control completely.

random

random

By debbie tucker green

An urgent play about the senseless killing of a black schoolboy, from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British playwriting.

Never So Good

Never So Good

By Howard Brenton

A fascinating portrait of Harold Macmillan in an epic play about the decline of British fortunes in the middle of the twentieth century.

  • Paperback£8.99 £7.19
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£8.99 £7.19
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Happy Now?

Happy Now?

By Lucinda Coxon

A painfully truthful, darkly comic take on contemporary life and how to survive it.

  • Paperback£8.99 £7.19
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£8.99 £7.19
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Testing the Echo

Testing the Echo

By David Edgar

A timely, provocative and witty look at the campaign to redefine Britishness for a multicultural society.

Stage Lighting Design

Stage Lighting Design

The Art, The Craft, The Life

By Richard Pilbrow

The definitive text for today's and tomorrow's lighting designers, covering the complete history, theory and practice of lighting design.

Noughts & Crosses

Noughts & Crosses (RSC stage version)

By Malorie Blackman Adapted by Dominic Cooke

An electrifying, bittersweet love story with echoes of Romeo and Juliet, set in a society divided by racial bigotry and a world rocked by terrorism. 

  • Paperback£10.99 £8.79
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • A4 Spiral-bound£16.99 £13.59
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  • Ebook£10.99 £8.79
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The Improvisation Book

The Improvisation Book

How to Conduct Successful Improvisation Sessions

By John Abbott

A practical guide to conducting improvisation sessions, for teachers, directors and workshop leaders.

  • Paperback£14.99 £11.99
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£14.99 £11.99
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Big White Fog

Big White Fog

By Theodore Ward

A poignant family drama set in Chicago against a backdrop of the Great Depression and the inescapable racism of the times.

  • Paperback£11.99 £9.59
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

By Jack Thorne

Two troubled, disturbing but bleakly funny plays from a leading writer of Channel 4's Shameless and Skins.