TEMPORARY ORDER DELAYS

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 91-120 of 568 items.
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 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,

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.

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
Citysong and other plays

Citysong and other plays

By Carys D. Coburn

The Verity Bargate Award-winning play about three generations of a Dublin family, plus two other plays: Boys and Girls and Drawing Crosses on a Dusty Windowpane.

  • Paperback£12.99 £10.39
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£12.99 £10.39
    Add to basket
CLASS

CLASS

By Iseult Golden and David Horan

Funny, heartbreaking and beautifully observed, CLASS is an award-winning play about learning difficulties: in school, in life, wherever.

Classical Monologues for Men

Classical Monologues for Men

By Marina Caldarone

Fifty monologues for men drawn from classical plays throughout the ages, 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.

Classical Monologues for Women

Classical Monologues for Women

By Marina Caldarone

Fifty monologues for women drawn from classical plays throughout the ages, 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.

Cling To Me Like Ivy

Cling To Me Like Ivy

By Samantha Ellis

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

Close Quarters

Close Quarters

By Kate Bowen

A taut, funny and powerful drama about the first generation of female soldiers to serve in the British infantry in close combat.

Clybourne Park

Clybourne Park

By Bruce Norris

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

Collapsible

Collapsible

By Margaret Perry

A funny, furious monologue about holding on in this collapsing world.

Coming Clean

Coming Clean

By Kevin Elyot

Funny, fresh and packed with razor-sharp wit, Kevin Elyot’s landmark drama questions the nature of fidelity and the limits of love.

Comment is Free & Start Swimming

Comment is Free & Start Swimming

Two plays

By James Fritz

Two plays by award-winning writer James Fritz, each asking urgent, pointed and complex questions of the times we live in.

Company: The Complete Revised Book and Lyrics

Company: The Complete Revised Book and Lyrics

By George Furth and Stephen Sondheim

Published alongside the acclaimed, reimagined West End revival in 2018, this edition of Sondheim's hit musical features the complete revised book and lyrics for the production, plus colour production photographs.

The Complete Brecht Toolkit

The Complete Brecht Toolkit

By Stephen Unwin

A practical, hands-on guide - for actors, directors, teachers and students - to Brecht's theory and practice of theatre, with a full set of exercises to help put theory into practice.

The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit

The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit

By Bella Merlin

A revised and updated edition of Bella Merlin's essential guide to Stanislavsky's terms and ideas.

Consensual

Consensual

By Evan Placey

An explosive and thought-provoking play from the author of Girls Like That, exploring what happens when buried secrets catch up with you.

Consent

Consent

By Nina Raine

A powerful, painful, funny play about the meaning of justice and consent when two friends take opposing briefs in a rape case.

Contemporary Duologues: Two Women

Contemporary Duologues: Two Women

Edited by Trilby James

A selection of the best contemporary scenes for two female actors. In the Good Audition Guides series.

Contemporary Monologues for Men

Contemporary Monologues for Men

Edited by Trilby James

Fifty fantastic speeches for men, all written since the year 2000, by some of our most exciting dramatic voices. Each speech is prefaced with a thorough introduction including the vital information you need to perform the scene to its maximum effect. The result is the most comprehensive and useful contemporary monologue book now available.

Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Female

Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Female

Edited by Trilby James

Forty fantastic female speeches for teenagers, all written since the year 2000, by some of the most exciting and acclaimed writers working today.

Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Male

Contemporary Monologues for Teenagers: Male

Edited by Trilby James

Forty fantastic male speeches for teenagers, all written since the year 2000, by some of the most exciting and acclaimed writers working today.

Coolatully

Coolatully

By Fiona Doyle

Lyrical and urgent, Fiona Doyle's play Coolatully is a compassionate insight into the links between the economy, masculinity and society in the modern world. Winner of the Papatango New Writing Prize.

Coram Boy

Coram Boy (stage version)

By Jamila Gavin Adapted by Helen Edmundson

A heartbreaking tale of orphans, angels, murder and music - dramatised from the Whitbread award-winning novel set in 18th-century England.

Cornermen

Cornermen

By Oli Forsyth

An exhilarating play about human triumph, ambition, self-doubt, and pride, set in the world of boxing.

  • 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
Cosmic Scallies

Cosmic Scallies

By Jackie Hagan

A witty and touching new play about class, friendship and absence.

Cost of Living

Cost of Living

By Martyna Majok

Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an exquisitely original, honest and deftly funny play that explores our need to connect and be loved regardless of the gulfs that disability, race, class, and wealth place between us.

Cougar

Cougar

By Rose Lewenstein

A startling play about what – and who – we consume.

Creating Worlds

Creating Worlds

How to Make Immersive Theatre

By Jason Warren

A practical guide to creating successful immersive theatre productions, by an experienced theatre-maker and practitioner.