Books published by Nick Hern Books

A Complete Voice Training Manual For Actors A simple, step-by-step manual, written by an RSC voice coach, which offers everything that an actor needs to work on their voice. Suitable for actors at all levels, from students and young professionals to established and experienced actors. Drama teachers in schools and committed amateur actors who want to increase their vocal skills and understanding will also find it invaluable. Includes sections on: Preparation Body Work Breathing and Support Breathing Into Sound: Supporting the Voice Releasing the Sound Filling out the Sound: Resonance Extending the Sound: Range Shaping the Sound: Articulation Trouble-Shooting. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction, then clearly and succinctly sets out a sequence of relevant exercises - accompanied by simple diagrams - ending with a summary of what we have learned. 'Brilliantly guides the actor using exercises and tools that can revolutionise the voice. It's a boon!' Joseph Fiennes 'Barbara's work is simple and practical, encouraging each actor to be free and fluid with their own voice... Very inspiring' Emily Watson 'Barbara has a great understanding of the way that actors' anxieties can affect their voice. Her tone is calm, reassuring and good humoured' Niamh Cusack

Perfect for any aspiring actor. This encouraging, no-nonsense guide walks you through the whole process of applying for drama school - including doing your initial research, selecting the right school for you, choosing and preparing your audition pieces, nailing the audition and dealing with recalls.

Every time you open your mouth on stage you are trying to persuade somebody of something.Sometimes referred to as 'the art of persuasion', rhetoric means using language to communicate your ideas and intentions to other people - and to make sure you are heard, understood and believed. This clear and concise guide explains how it works in plays, and how actors can use it to bring their performances to life on stage.Drawing on her decades of experience working with actors on major productions, including as Head of Voice at the National Theatre, Jeannette Nelson introduces all the major rhetorical techniques and devices that playwrights use. She offers fascinating breakdowns of dialogue and speeches from across the theatrical canon - from Shakespeare and Ibsen, to Tennessee Williams, Lorraine Hansberry and Arthur Miller, right up to contemporary playwrights such as Helen Edmundson and Tanika Gupta. Each chapter also includes a series of practical exercises which combine spoken word with physical action to help you explore and understand these techniques, and harness their power in performance.Whether you're an actor, a director or a drama teacher, Keeping It Active will empower you with a greater understanding of the ways that language underpins all dramatic works, and will give you the tools you need to unlock the text, understand characters, connect with the audience, and perform with greater confidence, focus and authenticity.'As this excellent book outlines, rhetoric is everywhere. It's not simply in the parliament, the press conference and the court; it's in the workplace, the home and the family. There's no argument, classical or modern, in a play that isn't informed and helped by Jeannette's work' Josie Rourke, from her Foreword'A great resource for actors and directors' Ralph Fiennes'Jeannette Nelson's revelatory relationship to language is, quite simply, life-changing' Simon Godwin'Jeannette taught me so much... I felt like I could persuade anybody to do anything' Sophie Okonedo

A candid and empowering A-Z of being an actor which lifts the lid on the realities of life in today's industry, and shows you how to navigate it.

A slippery thriller for the stage, about love, power and belief. In a modern world where reality is whatever we imagine it to be, how do we know the stories we tell ourselves are true?

An ordinary Tuesday turns really, really weird when the sky over the school playground suddenly rips open. Pupils and teachers are sucked up to a parallel universe, whilst a new set of people start raining down from above. 'Us' and 'Them' must come together to work out what is going on, and how they can get things back to how they were.Alison Carr's play Tuesday is funny and playful, with a little bit of sci-fi and a lot of big themes: friendship, family, identity, grief, responsibility - and what happens when an unexpected event literally turns the world upside-down.Written specifically for young people, the play formed part of the 2020 and 2021 National Theatre Connections Festivals and was premiered by youth theatres across the UK. It offers opportunities for a large, flexible cast of any size, age and mix of genders.This bilingual edition includes the original English play with a Welsh-language translation, Un Bore Mawrth, by playwright Daf James.Un Bore Mawrth''Wi 'di bod yn aros i rywbeth fel hyn ddigwydd. 'Wi'n synnu'i fod e 'di cymryd mor hir. Ma'r arwyddion 'di bod 'ma ers sbel.'Dydd Mawrth digon cyffredin yw hi, ond yn sydyn mae'n troi'n ddiwrnod rhyfedd iawn pan mae'r awyr uwch ben yr ysgol yn rhwygo'n agored. Caiff disgyblion ac athrawon eu sugno i fyny i fydysawd cyfochrog wrth i garfan newydd o bobl arllwys i lawr oddi uchod. Rhaid i 'Ni' a 'Nhw' ddod ynghyd i ddeall beth sy'n digwydd ac i ddatrys sut i gael pethau'n ôl fel yr oedden nhw.Mae'r ddrama wreiddiol hon gan Alison Carr, Tuesday, yn ddoniol ac yn chwareus, gyda phinsiad o ffugwyddoniaeth a thomen o themâu mawr: cyfeillgarwch, teulu, hunaniaeth, galar, cyfrifoldeb - a beth sy'n digwydd pan fydd digwyddiad annisgwyl yn llythrennol yn troi'r byd wyneb i waered.Wedi'i hysgrifennu ar gyfer pobl ifanc, roedd y ddrama'n rhan o Ŵyl National Theatre Connections yn 2020 a 2021, a chafodd ei llwyfannu am y tro cyntaf gan theatrau ieuenctid ar draws y DU.Mae'n cynnig cyfleoedd i gastiau mawr, hyblyg o unrhyw faint, oedran a rhywedd.Mae Tuesday yn waith gosod ar fanyleb TGAU Drama CBAC. Yn y gyfrol ddwyieithog hon, fe welwch y ddrama wreiddiol Saesneg ynghyd â chyfieithiad Cymraeg y dramodydd Daf James, Un Bore Mawrth.

A practical, empowering guide for performers and creatives, helping you navigate and overcome the pressures and demands of a career in the arts.

'The future of theatre will belong to the maverick minds who possess the skills to mix things up and who have enough tools in their box to trick the game.'This is a practical, grassroots, self-empowerment book for theatremakers. It's for anybody who wants to make live theatre, whether you're an actor, a director, a producer, a designer or a writer. Whether you're all of these, or none of them. Categories don't matter. What matters is making your show, and putting it in front of an audience.This book is not a method, nor a practice. It's an accessible toolbox of reflections and provocations designed to help you - an independent-minded, career-driven, professional theatremaker - along the path towards achieving your dreams.Inside, Russell Lucas shares his decades of experience in independent theatremaking, covering aspects including:Generating and developing ideasWorking with other creativesPromoting your show and selling ticketsUnderstanding the power of the audienceMaking ends meet and sustaining your careerHe tackles abstract problems, dissects the practical ones, and debunks plenty of myths along the way. Inspiring and unconventional, but always grounded in sound, real-world sense, 300 Thoughts for Theatremakers is a book for anyone who's passionate about a life in theatre, and wants to make that a reality.'Thank God for this book. It will surely be a comfort and support to all those who follow in Russell Lucas's independent and determined footsteps' Alan Lane, Artistic Director of Slung Low, from his Foreword

It's club night and the tracks are spinning. Set against a backdrop of precarious lives in urban London, two headliners crossfade between stories of love, sex, and losing their creative spark.Bangers follows the highs and lows of two strangers as they struggle with their own pasts, while hurtling towards each other's futures. All the while, the DJ continues to play, dropping samples and words of wisdom. In the end, it's not the last track that counts, but the one coming up next...Featuring original music inspired by early noughties and present-day RB and Garage, Danusia Samal's exhilarating play was first co-produced by Cardboard Citizens and Soho Theatre, and directed by the former's Artistic Director Chris Sonnex. It toured community venues across London, before a run at Soho Theatre, London, in 2022.

The Southbury Child is a darkly comic play exploring family and community, the savage divisions of contemporary society, and the rituals that punctuate our lives.

Meet Ashraf and his 'Habibti' - his daughter Shazia. He's an Egyptian, Muslim taxi driver; she's half-Egyptian, half-Wiganese, and more interested in the last call at the bar than the call to prayer.Their relationship is put to the test when Ashraf introduces Shazia to his new Egyptian bride, whilst she is attempting to break the news of her own secret engagement. In Ashraf's taxi they must navigate driving lessons, sing karaoke and explore whether, despite their differences, family can win out regardless.Habibti Driver is a heartwarming and hilarious play, based on Shamia Chalabi's real-life experiences and co-written with Sarah Henley, exploring the clashes, compromises and comedy that come with living in a mixed-culture family in today's Britain.First performed in an earlier version - Burkas and Bacon Butties - at the VAULT Festival, London, this revised, full-length version premiered at the Octagon Theatre Bolton in April 2022, co-produced with Tara Finney Productions.

A gripping play about the man who murdered Mahatma Gandhi, premiered at the National Theatre, London.