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.
When the Crows Visit
A dark and thrilling play inspired by true events in modern-day India, exploring the themes of Ibsen's Ghosts and the cyclical nature of oppression.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99What Shadows
By Chris HannanA searing look at identity and immigration within a bitterly divided country.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99What I (Don't) Know About Autism
By Jody O'NeillA sometimes comic, sometimes heartbreaking journey into the world of autism, mixing narrative, song, dance and direct address to explore this contentious and often misunderstood subject matter.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59What Do I Know?
People, Politics and the Arts
By Richard EyreA collection of fifty short pieces written by the former Artistic Director of the National Theatre.
- Hardback
£20.00£16.00Add to basketEbook£14.99£11.99Wendy & Peter Pan
By Ella Hickson Original author J.M. BarrieA refreshingly modern version of J.M. Barrie's much-loved story that puts the character of Wendy firmly centre stage.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.A4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79The Welkin
Lucy Kirkwood's play about a woman sentenced to hang for murder in 18th-century rural Suffolk.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79The Weir
The spellbinding, beautifully observed hit from the master of suspenseful realism.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79We Anchor in Hope
By Anna JordanA play about the end of an era as a London boozer closes its doors one final time.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Wardrobe
By Sam HolcroftA gripping journey through British history that shows how our country was shaped and how connected we are with our past. Part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections Festival.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79The Voice Exercise Book: The Warm-Ups
Essential warm-up exercises for anyone who wants to use their voice more effectively.
- Audio disk
£10.99£8.80
The Visit, or The Old Lady Comes to Call
By Friedrich Dürrenmatt Adapted by Tony KushnerDürrenmatt's visionary revenge play, one of the great achievements of modern German-language theatre, transported to mid-twentieth-century America by the acclaimed playwright Tony Kushner.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Vincent in Brixton
A moving portrait of the young Vincent van Gogh - a hit in the West End and on Broadway.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Victoria's Knickers
By Josh AzouzAn epic romcom telling the story of an unlikely romance between the Queen of England and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks. Premiered by the National Youth Theatre.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Veil
Set around a haunted house hemmed in by a restive, starving populace, The Veil weaves Ireland’s troubled colonial history into a transfixing story about the search for love, the transcendental and the circularity of time.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Vassa
By Maxim Gorky Adapted by Mike BartlettA new adaptation by Mike Bartlett of Maxim Gorky's savagely funny play, premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Valhalla
By Paul MurphyJoint winner of the inaugural Theatre503 Playwriting Award, Valhalla depicts a world where the boundaries of scientific research and the endurance of human love are stretched to their limits.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Unreturning
By Anna JordanA compelling drama that explores the profound effect that war has on young lives.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59The Unmanageable Sisters
By Michel Tremblay Adapted by Deirdre KinahanA funny and furious new version of Michel Tremblay’s fêted Québécoise comedy, Les Belles-Soeurs.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Unknown Rivers
A poignant and life-affirming play about the extraordinary powers of female friendship.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Uncle Vanya
By Anton Chekhov Adapted by Conor McPhersonConor McPherson's stunning adaptation of the Anton Chekhov masterpiece, a portrayal of life at the turn of the twentieth century, full of tumultuous frustration, dark humour and hidden passions.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Ugly Lies the Bone
An honest and funny play about a wounded veteran seeking rehabilitation through an experimental virtual reality therapy, from an award-winning American playwright.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Two Ladies
By Nancy HarrisA powerful drama about the first ladies of France and America, as their husbands clash over an international crisis.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Twilight Song
By Kevin ElyotKevin Elyot's evocative final play, a hilarious and heartbreaking tale of one family's hidden liaisons over half a century.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.Ebook£9.99£7.99truth and reconciliation
A play about the aftermath of violence, in conflicts around the world from Rwanda to Northern Ireland, and from Zimbabwe to Bosnia.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59
Tribes
By Nina RaineA penetrating play about belonging, family and the limitations of communication.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Trestle
A tender but truthful exploration of love and ageing, asking how we choose to live in the face of soaring life expectancies. Winner of the 2017 Papatango New Writing Prize.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39The Treatment
By Martin CrimpMartin Crimp's razor-sharp satire about a world in which people are products, movies are money and sex sells.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Travesty
The debut play by Liam Williams, double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee - about gender and the ethical dimensions of modern love.
- Paperback
£13.99£11.19Add to basketEbook£13.99£11.19Travelling Light
A funny and fascinating tribute to the Eastern European immigrants who became major players in Hollywood's golden age.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.
Tomcat
Winner of the 2015 Papatango New Writing Prize, Tomcat is a play set in a future world where diseases and disorders have been wiped out. How far will we go to keep humanity healthy?
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79
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