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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 151-180 of 568 items.
Poppy + George

Poppy + George

By Diane Samuels

A romantic drama with music inspired by the days of music hall and beyond, from the author of the modern classic Kindertransport.

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.

Purple Heart

Purple Heart

By Bruce Norris

A deeply moving meditation on love, loss and grief, from the author of Clybourne Park.

The Quality of Mercy

The Quality of Mercy

Reflections on Shakespeare

By Peter Brook

One of the world's most revered theatre directors reflects on a fascinating variety of Shakespearean topics.

The Quiet House

The Quiet House

By Gareth Farr

An exploration of infertility and the taboo that surrounds it, The Quiet House is a funny, moving and unswervingly honest love story.

random

random

By debbie tucker green

An urgent play about the senseless killing of a black schoolboy, from one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary British playwriting.

Rathmines Road

Rathmines Road

By Deirdre Kinahan

Fraught, funny, and ferocious, a play that challenges the cultural response to accusations of sexual assault.

Rattigan's Nijinsky

Rattigan's Nijinsky

By Nicholas Wright and Terence Rattigan

The extraordinary story of the relationship between the famous dancer Vaslav Nijinsky and the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, drawing on an unproduced screenplay by Terence Rattigan.

The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes (stage version)

By Nancy Harris Original author Hans Christian Andersen

A contemporary retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's extraordinary fairytale of dance, desire and destruction.

The Retreat

The Retreat

By Sam Bain

A 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.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet (Plays at the Garrick edition)

By William Shakespeare Edited by Kenneth Branagh

Shakespeare's heartbreaking tale of forbidden love, brought to life in a new production co-directed by Rob Ashford and Kenneth Branagh.

Ross

Ross

By Terence Rattigan

Terence Rattigan's epic and probing drama about the man immortalised as Lawrence of Arabia.

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.

Russian Dolls

Russian Dolls

By Kate Lock

Kate Lock's play about a surprising relationship between two very different women, winner of the 2015 Adrian Pagan Award.

Same

Same

By Deborah Bruce

A play exporing the apparent gulf between the young and old, commissioned as part of the 2014 National Theatre Connections Festival.

Second Person Narrative

Second Person Narrative

By Jemma Kennedy

A play about growing up, and forging your own identity. Part of Platform, a series of big-cast plays with predominantly or all-female casts, written specifically for performance by school, college and youth-theatre groups.

seeds

seeds

By Mel Pennant

A play about two mothers united in sorrow, sharing the hardship of protecting their sons – one in life, and one in death.

Sex with Robots and Other Devices

Sex with Robots and Other Devices

By Nessah Muthy

A fearless examination of the future of sex, and a fascinating vision of where humanity could be heading next.

Shangri-La

Shangri-La

By Amy Ng

A debut play laying bare the contradictions and private pain of cultural tourism.

Shibboleth

Shibboleth

By Stacey Gregg

An exhilarating and unsentimental exploration of working-class life in Belfast.

Sixty Five Miles

Sixty Five Miles

By Matt Hartley

A devastating drama about family and the ties that bind us together. Winner of the Under-26 Award at the 2005 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting.

The Small Hours

The Small Hours

By Katherine Soper

A National Theatre Connections play about teenagers, nightlife, and the small choices that have momentous consequences.

So You Want To Work In Theatre?

So You Want To Work In Theatre?

By Susan Elkin

An essential guide for young people who want to work in the theatre - but aren't sure exactly what they want to do, or how to get to do it. By the Education and Training Editor of The Stage.

Speech & Debate

Speech & Debate

By Stephen Karam

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

Spiderfly

Spiderfly

By John Webber

A taut, thrilling debut play for two actors, premiered at Theatre503, London.

Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

Stacy & Fanny and Faggot: two plays

By Jack Thorne

Two troubled, disturbing but bleakly funny plays from a leading writer of Channel 4's Shameless and Skins.

Staying Alive

Staying Alive

By Kat Roberts

A darkly funny and achingly tender play about the death of a child.

Steel

Steel

By Chris Bush

A play exploring the last three decades of women in politics, asking what's changed and what still must.

Stories

Stories

By Nina Raine

A funny and touching new play about the fertilisation of an idea.

The Strange Death of John Doe

The Strange Death of John Doe

By Fiona Doyle

A powerful and poignant drama about the search for the identity of a young man whose body is found face down in a suburban street.