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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 61-90 of 568 items.
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.

Doctor Foster: The Scripts

Doctor Foster: The Scripts

By Mike Bartlett

Mike Bartlett's complete scripts for his superlative, award-winning television drama series.

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.

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.

Why Is That So Funny?

Why Is That So Funny?

A Practical Exploration of Physical Comedy

By John Wright Foreword by Toby Jones

A practical investigation of how comedy works, by a well-respected practitioner and teacher. With a Foreword by Toby Jones.

World Factory: The Game

World Factory: The Game

By Zoë Svendsen and Simon Daw

A participative theatre experience about global consumer capitalism, offering readers the opportunity to play – as individuals or in teams – the managers of a clothing factory in China.

Year of the King

Year of the King

By Antony Sher

A classic of theatre writing, a unique insight into the creation of a landmark Shakespearian performance.

The Approach

The Approach

By Mark O'Rowe

Both psychological puzzle and quietly devastating tragedy, Mark O'Rowe's The Approach explores the inner lives of three women as they desperately try to make sense of their world.

Appropriate

Appropriate

By Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

A gripping play about ghosts and the legacies we are left with.

Arabian Nightmares: Three Plays

Arabian Nightmares: Three Plays

By Henry Naylor

Three timely one-act plays, showing the brutal and bloody impact of the current Middle Eastern crisis on ordinary people: The Collector, Echoes and Angel.

ear for eye

ear for eye

By debbie tucker green

Snapshots of lives, snapshots of experiences of protest; violence vs non-violence, direct action vs demonstrations, ear for eye follows characters navigating their way through society today.

Grotty & Brute: Two Plays

Grotty & Brute: Two Plays

By Izzy Tennyson

Two unflinching plays from exciting new writer and performer, Izzy Tennyson.

Image of an Unknown Young Woman

Image of an Unknown Young Woman

By Elinor Cook

A startlingly theatrical look at what happens when a politically inflammatory video goes viral and it all kicks off.

The Political History of Smack and Crack

The Political History of Smack and Crack

By Ed Edwards

An angry and passionate play chronicling the fallout for communities crushed by the heroin epidemic at the height of Thatcherism.

Tiger Country

Tiger Country

By Nina Raine

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

Travesty

Travesty

By Liam Williams

The debut play by Liam Williams, double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee -  about gender and the ethical dimensions of modern love.

The Acting Book

The Acting Book

By John Abbott

A ‘fast-forward’ acting course covering all the essential techniques an actor needs to know and use – with a suite of exercises to put each technique into practice.

Albion

Albion

By Mike Bartlett

Mike Bartlett's outstanding play, set in the ruins of a garden in rural England.

All Change Please

All Change Please

A Practical Guide to Achieving Gender Equality in Theatre

By Lucy Kerbel Foreword by Rufus Norris

A book about the need for change in theatre, to reflect the gender balance of the world it seeks to represent, and how, with everyone's help, we can achieve it.

The Authorised Kate Bane

The Authorised Kate Bane

By Ella Hickson

A painfully comic excavation of a family history asks if there is an authorised version of the past - or just the one we can live with.

Being a Dancer

Being a Dancer

Advice from Dancers and Choreographers

By Lyndsey Winship

Some of the best dancers and choreographers in the world, crossing the fields of ballet, contemporary, South Asian dance and hip hop, draw on their own experience to offer advice in the most revealing and instructive book yet on what it means to be a dancer.

Being a Playwright

Being a Playwright

A Career Guide for Writers

By Chris Foxon and George Turvey

The essential guide to a career in playwriting, from the team behind the multi-award-winning Papatango, one of the UK's leading new-writing companies.

Beyond Stanislavsky

Beyond Stanislavsky

The Psycho-Physical Approach to Actor Training

By Bella Merlin

A guide to Psycho-Physical Acting, complete with games and exercises.

Blackthorn

Blackthorn

By Charley Miles

A contemporary, lyrical love story that explores the changes and choices that pull us from the places and people we love.

Boudica

Boudica

By Tristan Bernays

A brand-new ancient-history play in verse that tells the story of one of Britain's most iconic women: a queen, a warrior and a rebel.

  • Paperback£12.99 £10.39
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  • Ebook£12.99 £10.39
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Boys

Boys

By Ella Hickson

Four boys face the tricky transition to adulthood in Ella Hickson's riot of a play.

Brecht: A Practical Handbook

Brecht: A Practical Handbook

By David Zoob

A bold and exciting new approach to Bertolt Brecht, making his theories and ideas about theatre accessible to a new generation of actors, directors, students and theatre-makers, and showing how they can be put into practice.

Brutus and Other Heroines

Brutus and Other Heroines

Playing Shakespeare's Roles for Women

By Harriet Walter

Award-winning actress Harriet Walter shares insights gleaned from her vast experience of performing some of Shakespeare's most famous roles - both male and female.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Captain Corelli's Mandolin (stage version)

By Louis de Bernières Adapted by Rona Munro

Rona Munro's adaptation of Louis de Bernières' much-loved epic novel, set on an idyllic Greek island in 1941.

Chekhov: Shorts

Chekhov: Shorts

By Anton Chekhov Translated by Stephen Mulrine

A collection of five of Anton Chekhov’s best-known short plays, in brand new English translations.

  • 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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