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We’re currently experiencing temporary disruption to the availability of some titles as we move all of our books to a new warehouse, which means it may take longer than normal for your order to reach you. Click here for more information.

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 61-90 of 568 items.
Tip of the Tongue

Tip of the Tongue

Reflections on Language and Meaning

By Peter Brook

A wise, playful and deeply personal book by master theatre-maker Peter Brook.

A Time to Reap

A Time to Reap

By Anna Wakulik Translated by Catherine Grosvenor

A play that follows one woman from a Polish village to the bright lights of London, exploring the issue of abortion and the Catholic Church.

Tiger Country

Tiger Country

By Nina Raine

A hospital play that follows a tangle of doctors and nurses in a busy London hospital.

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.

Three Sisters

Three Sisters

By Anton Chekhov Adapted by Cordelia Lynn

Cordelia Lynn's version of Chekhov's play, about three sisters trapped in a provincial town, waiting for their lives to begin.

Jack Thorne Plays: One

Jack Thorne Plays: One

By Jack Thorne

The first collection of plays by one of the UK's most exciting young writers.

Thon Man Molière

Thon Man Molière

By Liz Lochhead

The story of the great comedian Molière - his scandalous marriage, his scurrilous plays and the irresistible creation of his infamous and celebrated satire Tartuffe.

This is Living

This is Living

By Liam Borrett

A poignant exploration of what it means to say goodbye.

This Changes Everything

This Changes Everything

By Joel Horwood

A play about a group of young women seeking to form a new type of society and a better way of living. 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.

Things I Know To Be True

Things I Know To Be True

By Andrew Bovell

A complex and intense portrait of the mechanics of a family – and a marriage – through the eyes of four siblings struggling to define themselves beyond their parents' love and expectations.

Thick As Thieves

Thick As Thieves

By Katherine Chandler

A tense, revealing play that explores what it means to care for one another and asks who, in a time of increasing disconnect, we expect to look after us.

Thérèse Raquin

Thérèse Raquin (Theatre Royal Bath stage version)

By Émile Zola Adapted by Helen Edmundson

A story of lust, madness and destruction set in the backstreets of Paris. Based on Emile Zola's classic novel.

There Are No Beginnings

There Are No Beginnings

By Charley Miles

A play about the women whose lives and livelihoods were affected by the murderous attacks of the Yorkshire Ripper.

Theatre in Scotland

Theatre in Scotland

A Field of Dreams

By Joyce McMillan Edited by Philip Howard

A panoramic history of modern Scottish theatre, reported from the frontline by Scotland's leading drama critic.

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.

Terrorism

Terrorism

By The Presnyakov Brothers Translated by Sasha Dugdale

The extraordinary debut play from the Royal Court by two brothers from Siberia.

A Tender Thing

A Tender Thing

By Ben Power

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

Temple

Temple

By Steve Waters

A fictional account of the 2011 Occupy London movement, set in the heart of a very British crisis – a crisis of conscience, a crisis of authority and a crisis of faith.

Telling the Truth

Telling the Truth

How to Make Verbatim Theatre

By Robin Belfield

A practical guide to creating and producing verbatim theatre, by an experienced theatre-maker and practitioner.

Teddy Ferrara

Teddy Ferrara

By Christopher Shinn

An insightful and revealing play, inspired by real events, which explores society's uncomfortable embrace of the outsider.

Teaching Voice: Workshops for Young Performers

Teaching Voice: Workshops for Young Performers

By Max Hafler

An inspiring, practical guide to working with young people on their voices, by a highly experienced teacher, actor and director.

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.

A Table Tennis Play

A Table Tennis Play

By Sam Steiner

A play about how everything and nothing changes as people bat a ball.

Swive [Elizabeth]

Swive [Elizabeth]

By Ella Hickson

Sex is power in the reign of Elizabeth I. Ella Hickson's play explores the ways and means by which women in power negotiate patriarchal pressure in order to get their way.

Switzerland

Switzerland

By Joanna Murray-Smith

A gripping psychological thriller, filled with razor-sharp dialogue.

Sweet William: A User's Guide to Shakespeare

Sweet William: A User's Guide to Shakespeare

By Michael Pennington

An exploration of Shakespeare's life and work by a leading actor who has spent twenty thousand hours working on the plays.

The Sweet Science of Bruising

The Sweet Science of Bruising

By Joy Wilkinson

An epic tale of passion, politics and pugilism in the world of 19th-century women’s boxing.

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.

Sweat

Sweat

By Lynn Nottage

A 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.

Swallow

Swallow

By Stef Smith

Passionate, painful and playful, Stef Smith’s Swallow takes a long, hard look at the extremes of everyday life.