Books published by Nick Hern Books

A short play about death by Caryl Churchill, Here We Go premiered at the National Theatre, London, in November 2015.

Laura Eason's celebrated adaptation of Jules Verne's classic novel, in which fabulously wealthy Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers his life's fortune that he can circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days.

A witty, tender, and occasionaly surreal exploration of one family's experience of the NHS.

A fascinating selection of one hundred objects, each illustrated in full colour and accompanied by a compact essay, chosen by the Victoria and Albert Museum's curators for the insight they afford into the world of Shakespeare and his plays.

Lucy Kerbel's 100 Great Plays for Women is an inspiring guide to a hundred plays that put female performers centre stage, dispelling the myth that 'there aren't any good plays for women'. With a foreword by Kate Mosse. Women buy the majority of theatre tickets, make up half the acting profession and are often the largest cohort of any youth theatre or drama club. And yet they have traditionally been underrepresented on stage. 100 Great Plays for Women seeks to address this gap by celebrating plays that put female performers centre stage. Lucy Kerbel's myth-busting book features compact and insightful introductions to 100 plays, each of which has an entirely or predominantly female cast, with the female characters taking an equal or decisive role in driving the on-stage action. Also featured are 10 plays for solo female performers. The result is a personal but wide-ranging reappraisal of the theatrical canon, a snapshot of the very best writing - from ancient times right up to the present day - that has female protagonists at its heart. A fascinating mixture of familiar and less well-known works dealing with a broad range of themes, it is an essential resource for all directors and producers looking for plays to stage, writers seeking inspiration and actors trying to track down a new audition piece. It is also an exciting provocation that will have readers, both male and female, championing their own personal favourites. The book is the culmination of a project by Tonic Theatre and the National Theatre Studio. Tonic Theatre was founded by Lucy Kerbel in 2011 to support the theatre industry in achieving greater gender equality in its workforces and repertoires; it partners with leading theatre companies around the UK on a range of projects, schemes and creative works. The National Theatre Studio provides support and resources for both emerging and established theatre-makers of outstanding talent, and contributes to the National's ongoing search for and training of new artists. 'A gem of a book' Lucy Kerbel has done hard-working directors and artistic directors, of spaces large and small, a great service.' Kate Mosse, from her foreword

A smart and provocative thriller about spies, double agents, and the opaqueness of the human soul.

West End Producer is the anonymous Twitter sensation whose hilarious and unfailingly accurate barbs satirising and celebrating the theatre industry have won him a devoted following. His identity is the subject of feverish speculation in the media, fuelled by his regular appearances at West End opening nights in costume, wig and latex mask. He has become a genuine theatre impresario, launching talent competitions Search for a Twitter Star and its successor, Search for a Twitter Composer. And now West End Producer is ready to share all he's learnt about how to get ahead in showbusiness, in the form of a handy paperback book. Full of the wit and mischievous indiscretion that has gained him such a cult following, packed with gossip and insider knowledge of the theatre business, and containing enough savvy advice on acting to kickstart a career, West End Producer's book offers tips (both practical and deliciously impractical) on: Getting into drama school (learning how to sit in a circle) Auditioning (perfecting the 'staring vacantly out front' pose) Rehearsals techniques (including how to act in a serious play) The different kinds of actor (from sex pest to company idiot) Combating boredom (and avoiding backstage naughtiness) How to behave at first-night parties (obeying the traffic-light colour code) And, most importantly, the correct way to bow at the curtain call Also included in the book are many of West End Producer's most memorable tweets, miniature comic salvos despatched with all the shrewdness of a man who truly knows his Barrowmans from his Balls. 'Prepare to be shocked, rocked and mocked in this genuinely laugh-out-loud-funny, lovingly crafted, meticulously researched, spookily insightful and accurately spelled guide to all things thespian.' Michael Ball 'Don't even consider putting your daughter on the stage, Mrs Worthington, until you've first consulted this wonderful book.' Paul O'Grady

A unique, personal guide to Shakespeare's life and plays told through the experience of one of our leading classical actors.

A moving, comical and eye-opening story of four young women fighting for education and self-determination against the larger backdrop of women's suffrage.

A hilarious and heart-felt landmark play about courage, compassion and the fear of loneliness in life's journey towards self-discovery.

The author's guide to Kindertransport, an invaluable and uniquely authoritative resource for anyone studying, teaching or performing the play. Since it was first staged by the Soho Theatre Company in London in 1993, Diane Samuels' Kindertransport has enjoyed huge success around the world, has been revived numerous times, and is widely studied in schools and colleges. The play tells the story of how nine-year-old Eva, a German Jewish girl, is sent by her parents on the Kindertransport to start a new life with a foster family in Britain just before the outbreak of World War Two. Over forty years later, she has changed her name to Evelyn and denied her roots. When her own daughter discovers some old letters and photos in the attic, she is forced to confront the truth about who she really is and to reveal a dark secret that she has done everything to keep hidden. In this author's guide to the play, Diane Samuels investigates the historical background, drawing on the personal testimony of those whose lives were transformed by the Kindertransport. She explores the creative process that shaped the play through successive drafts. And she presents detailed accounts from the actors, directors, a composer and designer who have contributed to the play's most notable productions.

Reproduces the text of the "Shakespeare First Folio" (1623) in modern type.

This edition of "As You Like It" reproduces the First Folio of the play but in modern type. As an aid to understanding, a fully modernised version of the text appears on each opposite page. This edition also includes textual notes and a facsimile page from the First Folio.

One bathroom. Two people. One day. A relationship witnessed in minute, devastating detail. A story of intimacy, fragility and the darker side of love, Jack Thorne's Mydidae exposes the private and disturbing moments a couple share, and explores what becomes of a relationship when it is held together not only by love, but by fear, guilt and despair. 'A two-hander full of unexpected menace that probes and chips at its characters, peeling back layers of skin... a potent piece of writing' Exeunt Magazine 'Like a punch in the gut... what makes all of this not only bearable but completely transfixing is the unmistakeable honesty of the writing' Whatsonstage.com

An adaptation of the Carnegie Medal-winning children's novel.

A raw, uncompromising drama about bigotry and racism that explores the insidious rise of the British National Party. Winner of the 2012 Papatango New Writing Competition.

Forty monologues for young women, drawn from across the whole of Shakespeare's canon, complete with summaries, ideas for consideration and a glossary. Part of the Nick Hern Books Good Audition Guides series.

Forty monologues for young men drawn from across the whole of Shakespeare's canon, complete with summaries, ideas for consideration and a glossary. Part of the Nick Hern Books Good Audition Guides series.

Lucy Kirkwood's sharp comedy looks at power games and privacy in the media and beyond. Carrie's getting them out for the lads, Charlotte's just grateful to have a job, Sam's being asked to sell more than his body, and Aidan's trying to keep Doghouse magazine from going under. Set in the cut-throat media world, Lucy Kirkwood's timely new comedy exposes power games and privacy in the age of Photoshop. [NSFW = Not Safe For Work, online material which the viewer may not want to be seen accessing in a public or formal setting such as at work.]

A bewitching play by Jez Butterworth, author of the global smash-hit Jerusalem. Premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012. On a moonless night in August when the sea trout are ready to run, a man brings his new girlfriend to the remote family cabin where he has come for the fly-fishing since he was a boy. But she's not the only woman he has brought here - or indeed the last... 'A delicately unfolding puzzle... all of it is wrapped in marvelous language... extraordinary.' The Times 'One of the best productions of the year... a magnetically eerie, luminously beautiful psychodrama.' Time Out 'Strange, eerie, tense... Butterworth possesses a singular talent.' Guardian

A stunningly ambitious work from one of the UK's most influential playwrights. Someone sneezes. Someone can't get a signal. Someone shares a secret. Someone won't answer the door. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone's not ready to talk. Someone is her brother's mother. Someone hates irrational numbers. Someone told the police. Someone got a message from the traffic light. Someone's never felt like this before. In this fast-moving kaleidoscope, more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know. Premiered at the Royal Court in September 2012. 'This exhilarating theatrical kaleidoscope... What is extraordinary about Churchill is her capacity as a dramatist to go on reinventing the wheel' The Guardian 'The wit, invention and structural integrity of Churchill's work are remarkable... She never does the same thing twice' The Telegraph 'A wonderful web of complex emotions, memories, secrets and facts' A Younger Theatre

A gripping historical drama that dramatises a crucial moment of English history. Premiered at Hampstead Theatre in October 2012. December 1648. The Army has occupied London. Parliament votes not to put the imprisoned king on trial, so the Army moves against Westminster in the first and only military coup in English history. What follows over the next fifty-five days, as Cromwell seeks to compromise with a king who will do no such thing, is nothing less than the forging of a new nation, an entirely new world. Howard Brenton's play depicts the dangerous and dramatic days when, in a country exhausted by Civil War, a few great men attempt to think the unthinkable: to create a country without a king. 'A forgotten era of revolutionary British history is fascinatingly unlocked... electrifying.' Whatonstage.com '[A] confident and idea-packed piece... It could have been a dour history lesson. Instead it engages with the present, raising some pungent questions about the kind of democracy we have in Britain today.' Evening Standard

A harrowing site-specific drama about people-trafficking by an up-and-coming writer.