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.
Ross
Terence Rattigan's epic and probing drama about the man immortalised as Lawrence of Arabia.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Romeo and Juliet (Plays at the Garrick edition)
By William Shakespeare Edited by Kenneth BranaghShakespeare's heartbreaking tale of forbidden love, brought to life in a new production co-directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Richard III (West End edition)
By William Shakespeare Edited by Jamie LloydJamie Lloyd's version of Shakespeare's Richard III, edited for his Trafalgar Transformed production of the play in 2014, with additional bonus material.
- Paperback
£7.99£6.39Add to basketEbook£7.99£6.39The Retreat
By Sam BainA comedy about getting away from it all - the debut play from the BAFTA Award-winning co-writer and co-creator of Peep Show, Fresh Meat and Four Lions.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Red Shoes (stage version)
By Nancy Harris Original author Hans Christian AndersenA contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's extraordinary fairytale of dance, desire and destruction.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Red
An unflinching and bold exploration of the internal lives of young women. Part of Platform, an initiative aimed at addressing gender imbalance in theatre.
- Paperback
£8.99£7.19Add to basketEbook£8.99£7.19Rattigan's Nijinsky
By Nicholas Wright and Terence RattiganThe extraordinary story of the relationship between the famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, drawing on an unproduced screenplay by Terence Rattigan.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99
Rathmines Road
Fraught, funny, and ferocious, a play that challenges the cultural response to accusations of sexual assault.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99random
An urgent play about the senseless killing of a black schoolboy, from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British playwriting.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Ramona Tells Jim
By Sophie WuA darkly comic debut play about confession and the gravity of young love.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39The Railway Children (stage version)
By E. Nesbit Adapted by Mike KennyAn imaginative stage adaptation of E. Nesbit's much-loved children's classic.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Rafta, Rafta...
A hugely warm-hearted, comic tale of close-knit Indian family life in England, by the author of East is East.
- Paperback
£8.99£7.19
Rabbit Hole
The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a happy suburban couple whose lives are changed forever when their young son is killed in an accident.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39
The Quiet House
By Gareth FarrAn exploration of infertility and the taboo that surrounds it, The Quiet House is a funny, moving and unswervingly honest love story.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Queers: Eight Monologues
By various Created by Mark GatissQueers celebrates a century of evolving social attitudes and political milestones in British gay history, as seen through the eyes of eight individuals.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Queen Margaret
By William Shakespeare Adapted by Jeanie O'HareUsing Shakespeare’s orginal lines, alongside new text, Jeanie O’Hare retells The Wars of the Roses through the eyes of the extraordinary Margaret of Anjou.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.Ebook£12.99£10.39The Quality of Mercy
Reflections on Shakespeare
By Peter BrookOne of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Purple Heart
By Bruce NorrisA deeply moving meditation on love, loss and grief, from the author of Clybourne Park.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Puppetry: How to Do It
A practical, accessible and inspiring guide to using puppetry in theatre, by a leading expert in the field.
- Paperback
£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£16.99£13.59Pronoun
By Evan PlaceyA love story about transition, testosterone, and James Dean - commissioned as part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections Festival and premiered by youth theatres across the UK.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun)
Three couples. What might be. What once was. What could have been.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Prisoner
By Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène EstienneA provocative study of what it means to be free, by the internationally acclaimed theatre director and his long-time collaborator.
- Paperback
£7.99£6.39Add to basketEbook£7.99£6.39Princess & The Hustler
A play about a cheeky 10-year-old with a plan to win the Weston-super-Mare Beauty Contest, against the backdrop of Black British Civil Rights marches in 1960s Bristol.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79The Price of Everything
By Fiona EvansA 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.
- Paperback
£8.99£7.19
Pressure
By David HaigAn intense real-life thriller centred around the most important weather forecast in the history of warfare.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Precious Little Talent & Hot Mess
By Ella HicksonTwo plays by award-winning playwright Ella Hickson.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39Poppy + George
A romantic drama with music inspired by the days of music hall and beyond, from the author of the modern classic Kindertransport.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Pop Music
By Anna JordanA rollercoaster of a play for anyone that’s ever been a dick on the dance floor.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Political History of Smack and Crack
By Ed EdwardsAn angry and passionate play chronicling the fallout for communities crushed by the heroin epidemic at the height of Thatcherism.
- Paperback
£13.99£11.19Add to basketEbook£13.99£11.19Poison
By Lot Vekemans Translated by Rina VerganoAn extraordinary play by Dutch writer Lot Vekemans that asks a simple question: is it ever possible to move on?
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59
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