Books published by Nick Hern Books

A short play by one of the UK's leading dramatists. Premiered at the Royal Court in October 2012. 'No one could blame me. I've been hurt. You're a monster.' A child is shut in her room, a dog is dead in the road, someone is kissing her brother in law. A family locked in hatred is sending a son to war. And meanwhile in another country... 'The best short play since Harold Pinter's Mountain Language' Mark Lawson, Front Row 'As always Churchill seems inventive, coolly socialist, bleak yet dazzling, a bit of a shaman' Evening Standard 'An intriguing work, with an underlying atmosphere of unease and menace reminiscent of Pinter... it nags away in the memory long after you have left the theatre' Telegraph

1949. Small town Colorado. A group of regular American students struggle to accept a foreigner in their midst; their unthinking behaviour will have terrible consequences that are to change world history.

When an irish busker and a young Czech mother meet through a shared love of music, their songwriting sparks a deep connection and a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected. Based on the much-loved Oscar-winning film, Once is an extraordinary, original and irresistibly joyous celebration of love, friendship and music. It won eight Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 2012, including Best Book and Best New Musical. It opened in Dublin in February 2013 before transferring to the West End. 'charmingly funny and affecting... demonstrates the power of music both to express deep psychic hurt and to perform a cure of sorts' Independent 'quiet, wistful, tender... it has a delicate soulfulness and a truthful charm' Evening Standard 'there is a genuine warmth and inclusiveness to this show... best of all is Enda Walsh's script, which has great, puckish fun applying a bit of Brechtian silliness to the romcom formula' Time Out

A story about dystopian, modern-fairy-tale town where the lines between fact and fiction weave and snag.

An intimate and hedonistic examination of a nineteenth-century love triangle, slope explores the affair between the poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud, and its impact on Verlaine's young wife, Mathilde.

A landmark volume which explores the remarkable flowering of radical, visionary and experimental design for performance in Russia from 1913-1933.

The second volume in a series of large-format, lavishly illustrated books documenting for posterity a collection of significant and influential theatrical set, costume, and lighting designs.

A portrait of an eclectic family, held together by the courage to survive.

A collection of six plays by one of the UK's most exciting young writers. Also includes a revealing Introduction by the author.

An urgent political play from the writer behind Let The Right One In and This is England '86. Hope is a funny and scathing fable attacking the squeeze on local government.

Many theatre practitioners think of physical theatre as one thing and text-based theatre as another. In this book, Dymphna Callery, author of Through the Body: A practical guide to physical theatre, shows how exercises and rehearsal techniques associated with physical and devised theatre can be applied to scripted plays. Working 'through the body' enables performers to discover what really makes a play work. Drawing on key practitioners, including Jacques Lecoq, Joan Littlewood, Peter Brook and Simon McBurney, The Active Text offers a complete approach to working with a scripted play, leading the reader through a process of active exploration and experimentation that includes: Uncovering a play's internal dynamics Using improvisation and theatre games Exploiting the languages of the body Getting inside the words that are spoken (as well as those that aren't!) Discovering image structures Understanding the impact on the audience Throughout the book, the author draws on a core selection of well-known texts (from Sophocles and Shakespeare to Brecht, Arthur Miller, Steven Berkoff and Sarah Kane), showing how an active approach to text can challenge assumptions about even the most familiar of plays. Packed with theatre games, improvisation exercises and rehearsal techniques, The Active Text is an inspirational guide for performers, directors, students and teachers. It will revitalise work in the rehearsal room, workshop or classroom - anywhere that dramatic text needs to be brought to life.

Eight short plays, all two-handers, from the national theatre of Ireland that represent the very best of new Irish drama.

Pete and Rich are two very different brothers. Rich needs to confront ex girlfriend, Lucy, and shadows of his recent past. Pete's search is for one woman in his life he's never known and never knowingly hurt, his daughter. As they each embark on a journey of forgiveness, they discover that, even separated by sixty five miles - people never forget.

Four boys face the tricky transition to adulthood in Ella Hickson's riot of a play. Premiered at High Tide Festival 2012, then Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, and Soho Theatre, London. The Class of 2011 are about to graduate and Benny, Mack, Timp and Cam are due out of their flat. Stepping into a world that doesn't want them, these boys start to wonder whether there's any point in getting any older. How will they find the fight to make it as adults? Before all that they're going to have one hell of a party. It's hot and there'll be girls. Predict a riot. 'Marvellous... a play that both powerfully captures the mood of a generation and addresses permanent truths with exhilarating flair' Independent 'Will leave you with laughter lines' Time Out 'Heartfelt directness of writing that taps into a generation torn between action and inertia' Guardian

Mary Shelley: daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft; lover of Shelley; author of Frankenstein' Helen Edmundson's compelling play explores a crucial episode in the early life of Mary Shelley - her meeting and scandalous elopement aged sixteen with Percy Bysshe Shelley, and its consequences for her sisters, her stepmother and above all, her troubled father, the political philosopher William Godwin. 'Gripping... without ever reducing Mary Shelley to an issue drama, Edmundson suggests the destructive nature of a life lived without compromise' The Times

A virtuosic study of one man's descent into religious mania in small-town Ireland. This edition was published alongside the 2012 production at the National Theatre starring Cillian Murphy.

A unique new approach to the understanding and training of the actor's voice, with an accompanying 110-minute DVD showing the work in action.

From the acclaimed writer of BBC smash-hit comedy Him & Her, Stefan Golaszewski, comes this unflinchingly accurate portrayal of hollow lust, boredom and loneliness.

A gripping and urgent play about a well-meaning teacher who intervenes on behalf of a troublesome student, with terrifying consequences. Joint Winner of the Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting 2008. When white secondary-school teacher Amanda is pushed to the ground by black student Jason, she's reluctant to report him as she knows exclusion could condemn him to a future as troubled as his past. But when Jason decides to protect himself by spinning a story of his own, Amanda is sucked into a vortex of lies in which victim becomes perpetrator. With the truth becoming less clear and more dangerous by the day, it isn't long before careers, relationships and even lives are under threat. 'A tough, gripping spectacle' Guardian 'Outstanding... Franzmann manages to make all the characters credible and well-rounded, even the damaged perpetrator... She gets to the rotten core of what's going on in these melting-pot battlegrounds... The play of the year? In my book, quite possibly' Dominic Cavendish,Telegraph

The NHB Drama Classics series presents the world's greatest plays in affordable, highly readable editions for students, actors and theatregoers. The hallmarks of the series are accessible introductions (focussing on the play's theatrical and historical background, together with an author biography, key dates and suggestions for further reading) and the complete text, uncluttered with footnotes. The translations, by leading experts in the field, are accurate and above all actable. The editions of English-language plays include a glossary of unusual words and phrases to aid understanding. Over two hundred and fifty years since it was written, The Servant of Two Masters, a classic of Italian comedy, remains blisteringly hilarious and relevant. Disguising herself as her dead brother, Beatrice travels to Venice to find Florindo, the man responsible for his death. However her servant, Truffaldino, enters into the pay of Florindo and struggles to keep his two lives and masters separate.

A practical guide to training as an actor, helping you get the most out of drama school - and survive in the world beyond. Are you thinking of applying to drama school?Do you have a place already and want to get the most out of your training? Are you seeking to make the best possible start in the world beyond drama school? Becoming an Actor takes you, step by step, technique by technique, through everything you can expect to encounter at drama school, and in your first year as a professional actor. Stuffed with exercises and full of practical advice, it is the ideal handbook to accompany your training. Thomasina Unsworth teaches at Rose Bruford College, one of the UK's leading drama schools. Here she shows what acting classes at an accredited drama school are actually like, and offers guidance and support through what is a critical time in any actor's career. With many different exercises to help actors explore the techniques they need to master, Becoming an Actor is also an invaluable resource for those teaching acting, and for those seeking to refresh their training. 'Clear, bright, accessible and above all useful... offers young actors a valuable insight into the demands and rewards of professional training, while providing a sequence of practical exercises which can be used by performers, students and teachers across a much broader range of contexts.' - Stanislavski Studies 'Entertaining and informative... students and potential students will find Unsworth's readable book invaluable.' - ReviewsGate.com 'Ideal for anyone interested in vocational training... includes lots of classroom exercises to show the reader exactly the sort of thing that they can expect to be doing [in drama school]' - Teaching Drama Magazine

The first volume of collected work from the author of the smash hit play East is East.

A fast and funny family drama about intergenerational and cross-cultural relationships, from the winner of the 2011 Bruntwood Prize.