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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 211-240 of 568 items.
The Here and This and Now

The Here and This and Now

By Glenn Waldron

A darkly surprising comedy about the pharmaceuticals business, the salaryman and woman, and the quest for happiness.

Run

Run

By Stephen Laughton

Stephen Laughton's one-man play about a gay Jewish seventeen-year-old explores what it means to love, to lose, and how to grow from a boy into a man.

Junkyard

Junkyard

By Jack Thorne

A brilliantly honest and witty coming-of-age drama, with music by Stephen Warbeck.

  • Paperback£10.99 £8.79
    There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
  • Ebook£10.99 £8.79
    Add to basket
Limehouse

Limehouse

By Steve Waters

A thrilling drama that takes us behind closed doors to imagine the personal conflicts behind the making of political history.

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun)

a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun)

By debbie tucker green

Three couples. What might be. What once was. What could have been.

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.

Mr Thomas

Mr Thomas

By Kathy Burke

A gritty, darkly funny look at attitudes to homosexuality in the 1950s, a portrait of repressed sexuality and alcoholism – and an homage to the great masters of British theatre, Wilde, Coward, Pinter and Orton.

Speech & Debate

Speech & Debate

By Stephen Karam

A fiercely funny play by the Tony Award-winning author of The Humans.

Ugly Lies the Bone

Ugly Lies the Bone

By Lindsey Ferrentino

An honest and funny play about a wounded veteran seeking rehabilitation through an experimental virtual reality therapy, from an award-winning American playwright.

Low Level Panic

Low Level Panic

By Clare McIntyre

A funny, unapologetic play about the effects of society's objectification of women.

All the Little Lights

All the Little Lights

By Jane Upton

A poignant, moving and darkly funny play about young girls slipping through the cracks in society. Joint winner of the 2016 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright.

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.

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.

Abigail

Abigail

By Fiona Doyle

A man in his forties and a woman in her twenties meet on a trip to Berlin. Across a fractured timeline where past and present collide, the story of their relationship, their love and their struggle unravels.

  • 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
Picnic at Hanging Rock

Picnic at Hanging Rock (stage version)

By Joan Lindsay Adapted by Tom Wright

A chilling adaptation of Joan Lindsay's classic novel about the disappearance of three Australian schoolgirls in the summer of 1900.

BU21

BU21

By Stuart Slade

Six young people are caught in the aftermath of a terrorist attack in the heart of London. By turns terrifying, inspiring, brutal, heartbreaking and hilarious, BU21 is verbatim theatre from the very near future.

Brainstorm: The Original Playscript

Brainstorm: The Original Playscript

And a Blueprint for Creating Your Own Production

By Ned Glasier, Emily Lim and Company Three

A unique theatrical investigation into how teenagers' brains work, and why they’re designed by evolution to be the way they are.

Nice Fish

Nice Fish

By Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins

A sublimely playful, profound and very funny play, by celebrated actor Mark Rylance and Minnesotan contemporary prose poet Louis Jenkins.

The Children

The Children

By Lucy Kirkwood

Two ageing nuclear scientists in an isolated cottage on the coast, as the world around them crumbles. Then an old friend arrives with a frightening request.

Feldenkrais for Actors

Feldenkrais for Actors

How to Do Less and Discover More

By Victoria Worsley

A practical guide to the Feldenkrais Method, for actors. Written by an experienced actor, theatre-maker and Feldenkrais practitioner.

Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

Lazarus: The Complete Book and Lyrics

By David Bowie and Enda Walsh

The extraordinary musical inspired by the book The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis and its cult film adaptation starring David Bowie, and incorporating some of Bowie's most iconic songs.

The Acedian Pirates

The Acedian Pirates

By Jay Taylor

A play that challenges our understanding of mythology, and forces us to ask vital questions about military occupation.

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.

Drama Games for Rehearsals

Drama Games for Rehearsals

By Jessica Swale

A dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the bestselling Drama Games series offering dozens of ideas and exercises to energise and inspire a bold, creative rehearsal process for any play, of any period or genre.

What Shadows

What Shadows

By Chris Hannan

A searing look at identity and immigration within a bitterly divided country.

Oil

Oil

By Ella Hickson

An explosive play that drills deep into the world's relationship with this finite resource.

Broken Biscuits

Broken Biscuits

By Tom Wells

A beautiful, heart-warming, laugh-out-loud coming-of-age story for our times.

Fleabag: The Original Play

Fleabag: The Original Play

By Phoebe Waller-Bridge

The outrageously funny play that became the wildly successful and 'utterly riveting' (Guardian) BBC television series.

Drama Games for Young Children

Drama Games for Young Children

By Katherine Zachest

From the bestselling Drama Games series, this dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book – packed with over 200 individual games – is perfect for teachers, playgroup leaders and drama facilitators who want to inspire and entertain children, aged 3 and up, with vibrant and engaging drama experiences.

The Nest

The Nest

By Franz Xaver Kroetz Translated by Conor McPherson

A fable about the moral and environmental cost of our materialistic nesting instincts.