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.
Maggie May
An extraordinary drama about an ordinary family who must balance the challenges of daily life whilst living with dementia.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Daughter
By Adam LazarusA darkly satirical monologue about fatherhood, love and toxic masculinity.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Jez Butterworth Plays: Two
Three extraordinary plays by one of the most audacious and talented playwrights of our times: Jerusalem, The River and The Ferryman. Plus his short film The Clear Road Ahead, and a conversation with playwright Simon Stephens.
- Paperback
£18.99£15.19Add to basketEbook£18.99£15.19seeds
By Mel PennantA play about two mothers united in sorrow, sharing the hardship of protecting their sons – one in life, and one in death.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Run Sister Run
By Chloë MossA witty and heartfelt play about two sisters, exploring family, class and dependence.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39Meat
A play about class, consent and transgressions buried in the past, set over the course of one winesoaked evening in a Dublin restaurant.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The 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£8.79Wuthering Heights (stage version)
By Emily Brontë Adapted by Andrew SheridanA ferocious, wild and utterly exhilarating adaptation of Emily Brontë's indelible masterpiece.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Faustus: That Damned Woman
By Chris BushA radical reimagining of the classic cautionary tale, transforming the iconic character of Faustus into a woman who makes the ultimate sacrifice and sells her soul to wrestle control of her own destiny.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79I Think We Are Alone
By Sally AbbottA delicate and uplifting play about fragility, resilience and our need for love and forgiveness.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79What 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£9.59Zoo and Twelve Comic Monologues for Women
By Lily BevanA wildly inventive comedy drama about courage, female friendship and flamingos. This volume also includes twelve comic monologues for female performers.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59Plays from VAULT 5
Five new plays from VAULT Festival
This anthology, the fifth from Nick Hern Books, comprises five of the best plays from VAULT Festival 2020, London's biggest and most exciting arts festival.
- Paperback
£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£16.99£13.59Uncle 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£8.79The 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 Small Hours
A National Theatre Connections play about teenagers, nightlife, and the small choices that have momentous consequences.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99When They Go Low
A play about everyday feminism, consent and the changing face of teenage sexuality in an online world. Written for the National Theatre Connections Festival.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79Add to basketEbook£10.99£8.79Dear Evan Hansen: The Complete Book and Lyrics (West End edition)
A new edition of the hugely successful musical, published alongside its West End premiere.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79
Swive [Elizabeth]
By Ella HicksonSex is power in the reign of Elizabeth I. Ella Hickson's play explores the ways and means by which women in power negotiate patriarchal pressure in order to get their way.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59Christmas Carol: A Fairy Tale (stage play)
By Piers Torday Original author Charles DickensA revitalised stage adaptation of Charles Dickens's Christmas tale, by renowned author Piers Torday, focussing on Ebenezer Scrooge's sister Fan, the most monstrous miser ever known.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketA4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Improv Beyond Rules
A Practical Guide to Narrative Improvisation
By Adam MeggidoAn inspiring, hands-on guide to narrative improvisation, by the co-creator and director of the Olivier Award-winning improv show Showstopper! The Improvised Musical.
- Paperback
£14.99£11.99Add to basketEbook£14.99£11.99The Jungle Book (stage version)
Rudyard Kipling’s beloved tale of family, belonging and identity has been reimagined in this acclaimed adaptation by Jessica Swale, with original songs by Joe Stilgoe.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99The Last Noël
By Chris BushA funny, moving, uplifting play about Christmas, with original songs.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (stage version)
By Mary Shelley and Rona MunroA brilliant adaptation of Mary Shelley's Gothic masterpiece that places the writer herself amongst the action as she wrestles with her creation and with the stark realities facing revolutionary young women, then and now.
- Paperback
£11.99£9.59There is limited availability of this title. Please enquire before placing your order.A4 Spiral-bound£16.99£13.59Add to basketEbook£11.99£9.59The Arrival
A taut family drama about obsession, betrayal and the human need to belong.
- Paperback
£9.99£7.99Add to basketEbook£9.99£7.99Spiderfly
By John WebberA taut, thrilling debut play for two actors, premiered at Theatre503, London.
- 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£7.99The Antipodes
By Annie BakerPart satire, part sacred rite, a play that asks what value stories have for a world in crisis.
- Paperback
£10.99£8.79
God's Dice
Science and religion go head to head in this electric tragicomedy: a ferociously funny battle for power, fame and followers.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39Little Baby Jesus & Estate Walls
Two plays
By Arinzé KeneTwo plays, both set in contemporary inner-city London, showcasing the remarkable poetic and theatrical imagination of writer/performer Arinzé Kene.
- Paperback
£12.99£10.39Add to basketEbook£12.99£10.39
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