Nick Hern is home to many of the most exciting and renowned plays & playwrights working today – including Jez Butterworth, Helen Edmundson and Robert Icke - as well as numerous exciting, emerging voices
Theatre adaptations of many bestselling authors appear – such as Andrea Levy’s Small Island , Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman and Hilary Mantel’s short story collection The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher
Book SynopsisA true-life play about friendship, heartbreak and business enterprise... in a seaside brothel. Tessa has set up a business: a brothel where mature women specialise in offering the 'Girlfriend Experience', a surprisingly caring and sympathetic service. As the women stoically strive to make a living in a competitive market, their personal lives start to crumble. Will they ever have loving relationships outside work and enjoy being girlfriends themselves? The Girlfriend Experience continues the verbatim-theatre technique Alecky Blythe developed in Come Out Eli and Cruising. The play is created entirely from conversations recorded inside an actual brothel, edited and replicated on stage in all their uncanny verisimilitude. Alecky Blythe's play was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September 2008. The production transferred to the Young Vic, London, in July 2009.Trade Review'Funny, touching and absolutely filthy... a hugely entertaining eye-opener of a show' * Telegraph *'Poignant, sometimes disturbing, often riotously funny' * The Times *'These women aren't patronised or made into gargoyles: their sentences are gorgeous. They simply reveal their lives. What more could you want from the theatre?' * Observer *
£9.99
Book SynopsisA dark and wickedly funny farce about one man's twisted attempts to find a woman he can control completely. Adapted from Molière's classic comedy The School for Wives by Liz Lochhead, 'Scotland's greatest living dramatist' (Scotland on Sunday). He's old, rich and determined to find the perfect wife. She's young, innocent and in debt to him. He'll have her by any means possible... 'Wives like your one, those with all the smarts, The ballbreakers, they're the ones to break our hearts... So pick a simple girl - it's not rocket science!' Liz Lochhead's play Educating Agnes was first staged by Theatre Babel at the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow, in 2008.Trade Review'A daft, boisterous, big-hearted comedy that merrily weaves references to Kinsey and Cosmo on to Molière's 17th-century frame' * Guardian *'Lochhead has fashioned a fabulous script, working Molière's playful rhymes into a robust, clever and hilarious Scots-English... shifts brilliantly between "high" and "low" registers, all the better to draw out the play's comedy of hypocritical sexual manners' * Telegraph *'Pure bliss... Lochhead's extraordinary facility for manipulating the meter has never been bettered. She exploits every trick in the book to make the verse sayable but maintain the comic effect' * The Times *
£8.54
Book SynopsisAn unrivalled unofficial history of the rise – and partial fall – of fringe theatre, Mike Bradwell's deadpan account of his adventures is one of the funniest and angriest books to come out of theatre today. Winner of the 2010 Theatre Book Prize awarded by the Society for Theatre Research. As he travels through a counterculture peopled by nutters, chancers, dreamers and prophets, Bradwell makes us marvel at his resilience and creativity, captured in a succession of vivid – and often laugh-out- loud – episodes such as: creating a character with Mike Leigh; enjoying the onstage mass orgasms of The Living Theatre; eating fire with Bob Hoskins; becoming an underwater escapologist (reluctantly) in the Ken Campbell Roadshow; creating Hull Truck; and doing battle with the Health and Safety brigade, the funding bodies and a Polish heavy-metal disco during his ten years running the famous Bush Theatre in West London. Bradwell is a passionate champion of the alternative as well as an admired and successful director. He makes a compelling – and urgent – case for preserving the true and subversive spirit of theatre from castration at the hands of bankers, consultants, stakeholders, cultural-diversity compliance monitors and the Arts Council. 'Towards the end of this brilliant account of his epic forty-year journey, Mike tells us, 'I don't believe that theatre is safe in the hands of grown-ups', and it is his healthy, eternal youthfulness that makes the book so inspiring' Mike Leigh, from his ForewordTrade Review'Inimitably filthy, achingly funny... Bradwell is one of the most colourful figures in theatre today' -- Ian Herbert * The Stage *'Both a history and a pointer to the future of theatre, written by one of its most courageous and effective champions' * Theatres Magazine *'Funny and rude, bloody-minded and undervalued, much like the theatre to which he has given his all' * Times Literary Supplement *
£17.99
Book SynopsisA fascinating portrait of Harold Macmillan in an epic play about the decline of British fortunes in the middle of the twentieth century. Set against a back-drop of fading Empire, war, the Suez crisis, vintage champagne, adultery and vicious Tory politics at the Ritz, Never So Good paints the portrait of a brilliant, witty but complex man, at times comically and, in the end, tragically out of kilter with his times. Harold Macmillan, the Eton-educated idealist who rushed, with Homer's Iliad under his arm, to do his duty in the Grenadier Guards, is tormented by the harsh experiences of war and an unhappy marriage. His career in the 1930s is blocked by his loyalty to Winston Churchill, and he nearly loses his life in the Second World War. When at last he becomes Prime Minister he is brought down by the Profumo scandal. Howard Brenton's Never So Good was first performed in the Lyttelton auditorium of the National Theatre in March 2008, directed by Howard Davies and starring Jeremy Irons as Macmillan.Trade Review'Gripping, compassionate and often delightfully comic... his finest achievement to date' * Telegraph *
£18.27
Book SynopsisA timely, provocative and witty look at the campaign to redefine Britishness for a multicultural society. Who is head of the Church of England? How many members are there in the Welsh Assembly? What is the main function of the Council of Europe? Emma is a dedicated ESOL teacher (English for Speakers of Other Languages), teaching British citizenship to people from Somalia, Serbia, the Congo, India and Egypt. At the same time, Tetyana, Mahmood and Chong have their own, very different reasons for wanting to pass the citizenship test. As the Home Office worries away at the questions in the test, Emma faces a challenge to her deepest-held beliefs. David Edgar's play Testing the Echo was first staged by Out of Joint on a UK tour in 2008.Trade Review'A powerful new play... important and disturbing' * Scotsman *
£9.49
Book SynopsisAn emotionally involving family play that evokes the poignancy and the poison of the festive season - from the award-winning writer of The Sugar Wife. A small town in the south east of England. Eddie returns home for a peaceful family Christmas for the first time in many years. But neither he nor his parents can forget or forgive themselves for the death of their other son, Richard, and the unanswered questions that surround it. But not for much longer - it seems that Richard had secrets that are about to erupt into their lives. Dormant conflicts begin to surface as Eddie's family are confronted with the ghosts of Christmases past - along with some unwelcome revelations about the present. Elizabeth Kuti's play The Six-Days World was first staged at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 2007.Trade Review'Refreshing... a gift for combative dialogue... Kuti is a dramatist to watch' * The Times *
£999.99
Book SynopsisMichael Pennington's solo show about Shakespeare, Sweet William, has been acclaimed throughout Europe and in the US as a unique blend of showmanship and scholarship. In this book, he deepens his exploration of Shakespeare's life and work - and the connection between the two - that lies at its heart. It is illuminated throughout by the unrivalled insights into the plays that Pennington has gained from the twenty thousand hours he has spent working on them as a leading actor, an artistic director and a director - and as the author of three previous books on individual Shakespeare plays. 'Michael Pennington is a great Shakespearian actor who writes with the authority of an academic. His book analyses the plays, the characters and the playwright's life. It will intrigue, entertain and challenge students, actors and their audiences. It undoubtedly leads the field in modern Shakespeare scholarship' Ian McKellen ‘There are very few who can bring to Shakespeare the thoughts that are born in the burning heart of hard-earned experience. Michael Pennington not only knows what he means, he has the writer's talent to put this into irresistibly readable words.' Peter Brook Trade Review'The most important and best set of original Shakespeare essays that I have read in over thirty years... Pennington is blessed with an ideal combination of talents and experiences... a wonderful book.' * Speaking English *'Brilliantly illuminating... A detailed, celebratory, highly readable investigation... it will give pleasure to the curious audience member and provide insights and inspiration for the actor, director or student' * Around the Globe magazine *'Brimming with insight, wit and passion, this book has something to offer everyone from scholars and actors just starting out, to avid theatre-goers' * Offwestend.com *'Michael Pennington's book will excite and enchant his readers and undoubtedly give them a better knowledge and understanding of the works of the Bard, whether they are newcomers, casual fans, fellow actors or devoted academics.' * British Theatre Guide *'I can’t remember when I learned so much from a single volume as I have from Michael Pennington’s engaging, absorbing, congenial, informative new book Sweet William. ... Sometimes he’s anecdotal, often lyrical, always thoughtful and occasionally laugh-aloud funny. Pennington’s book is a must-read for anyone interested in Shakespeare from almost any angle - actor, drama student, teacher, director, technician, literature student or audience member.' * The Stage *
£37.71
Book SynopsisA funny, vibrant and moving version of Chekhov's Three Sisters, set amongst the Jewish community in wartime Liverpool. From the award-winning writer Diane Samuels (Kindertransport) and well-known actress and writer Tracy-Ann Oberman. Liverpool, 1946. A year after the sudden death of their father, sisters Gertie, May and Rita Lasky share their once grand home on Hope Street with their asthmatic brother Arnold, Auntie Biel (who still keeps her packed suitcase under the spare bed) and old family friend Dr Nate Weinberg (who claims, hand on heart, to be on the wagon). As the sisters regularly welcome GIs and pilots from the nearby American base, each continues her own search for meaning amidst the shattered remains of their city, in a rapidly changing world. Three Sisters on Hope Street was first staged at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, in 2008, transferring to Hampstead Theatre, London.Trade Review'Heartwarming... fascinating and powerfully affecting' * Telegraph *'An extraordinary play' * Sunday Times *'A bold, fresh and fruitful reinterpretation' * Times *
£10.44
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price The tale of an impassioned, childless woman living with her husband in rural Spain. Tortured by her incessant longing to conceive a child, Yerma is driven by madness to commit a heinous crime. Federico García Lorca's play Yerma was first performed in 1934. This English translation by Jo Clifford is published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series. The edition also includes an introduction by Jo Clifford, a chronology and suggestions for further reading.
£999.99
Book SynopsisA fresh and genuinely thrilling adaptation of the classic tale, and one that keeps close to Stevenson's original story. When young Jim Hawkins is left a treasure map by the dying buccaneer Billy Bones, he sets sail on the Hispaniola in search of the island. Among the crew, the one-legged Long John Silver becomes his greatest friend - but Silver has a shocking secret in store, and when they reach their destination, Jim faces danger and adventure greater than he could ever have imagined. Stuart Paterson's adaptation of RL Stevenson's Treasure Island was first performed by Birmingham Stage Company at Birmingham Old Rep in 2007, followed by a UK tour. This edition of the script includes production notes with ideas for casting and staging the play. Suitable for young people to watch and perform.Trade Review'Robert Louis Stevenson's classic pirate adventure is brought to life with wit and imagination... keeps the plot simple but pacey... an adventure story like no other' * Birmingham Mail *'Gripping and immaculately faithful to Stevenson' * Stage *
£11.39
Book SynopsisA comprehensive instruction manual, full of practical exercises, which starts with overhauling our attitude to our voice. Based firmly on the author's extensive teaching experience all over the world, and packed full of illustrations and exercises, Singing With Your Own Voice is the book for everyone who has always wanted to sing but has been too scared to try. Orlanda Cook was a member of the experimental Roy Hart Theatre in London and in France for over twenty years from 1972, after which she worked extensively as a voice coach and director in Sweden, France, Belgium, Hungary, the Middle East and Britain. She died in mid-career just after completing this book. 'Working with Orlanda was full of enjoyment. She created a safe climate around her which helped even the most shy to come forward and find new dimensions in his or her voice' Suzanne Osten, Director, Unga Klara, StockholmTable of ContentsOvercoming inhibition; breath and the body; sound and resonance; using your imagination; singing the song; singing for others.
£12.34
Book SynopsisA step-by-step guide to Physical Theatre in both theory and practice - full of detailed exercises and inspiring ideas. In Through the Body, based on twelve years of teaching physical theatre, Dymphna Callery introduces the reader to the principles behind the work of certain key 20th-century theatre practitioners (Artaud, Grotowski, Meyerhold, Brook and Lecoq, among others) and offers exercises by which their theories can be turned into practice and their principles explored in action. The book takes the form of a series of workshops starting with the preparation of the body through Awareness, Articulation, Energy and Neutrality. A section on Mask-work is followed by further work on the body, investigating Presence, Complicité, Play, Audience, Rhythm, Sound and E-motion. The book - and the work - culminates in sections on Devising and on the Physical Text. There is also a thorough bibliography and a contact list of training courses in the UK and abroad. 'This book offers everything you have ever wanted to know about Physical Theatre. It is very detailed but at the same time very easy to understand. It breaks down every topic to short paragraphs which are informative and simple. A must for any theatre student or lecturer for that matter!' Amazon readers review
£13.49
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price The story of Andromache, widow of the Trojan hero Hector. Some years after the fall of Troy, Andromache is living as a slave to Neoptolemus, by whom she has a child. When Neoptolemus' fiercely jealous young wife, Hermione, finds she is unable to conceive, she threatens to murder Andromache, and the struggle between the two women turns quickly into a bitter feud. This edition of Euripides' Andromache, in the Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton.
£11.94
Book SynopsisTwo early plays from the acclaimed Irish writer Enda Walsh. bedbound is a ferocious two-hander about a father-daughter relationship gone horribly and terrifyingly wrong. bedbound was first performed at The New Theatre, Dublin, as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival 2000. It received its UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, during the 2001 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was revived at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs, London, in January 2002. misterman is a strange and haunting monologue about a missionary who'll stop at nothing. misterman was first performed by Enda Walsh in a Corcadorca Theatre Company production at the Granary Theatre in Cork in April 1999, directed by Pat Kiernan. A later version was produced by Landmark Productions and Galway Arts Festival, and performed at the Black Box Theatre, Galway, as part of the Galway Arts Festival, in July 2011. Trade Review'A play unlike any other I have seen. Enda Walsh's vision of wounded humanity... has a precision that is entirely his own... an uncomfortable, unforgettable tour-de-force' * Daily Telegraph on 'bedbound' *'A work that enjoys delving into the nastier zones of human behaviour with a wild and mischievous exuberance' * Irish Theatre Magazine on 'misterman' *
£9.99
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Should the truth be pursued, whatever the cost? The idealistic son of a wealthy businessman seeks to expose his father's duplicity and to free his childhood friend from the lies on which his happy home life is based. Henrik Ibsen's play The Wild Duck, considered a masterpiece of modern tragicomedy, was premiered in January 1885 at Den Nationale Scene, Bergen, Norway. This English translation by Stephen Mulrine is published in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, with a full introduction.
£6.12
Book SynopsisA moving portrait of the young Vincent van Gogh - a hit in the West End and on Broadway. Winner of the 2003 Olivier Award for Best New Play. Brixton, 1873. A brash young Dutchman rents a room in the house of an English widow. Three years later he returns to Europe on the first step of a journey which will end in breakdown, death and immortality. Nicholas Wright's play Vincent in Brixton was first performed at the National Theatre, London, in the Cottesloe auditorium, in April 2002, directed by Richard Eyre. The production transferred to Wyndhams Theatre in the West End in August 2002.Trade Review'One of the best new plays ever presented by the National Theatre' * Sunday Times *'A brilliant portrait of the artist as a young man' * Guardian *'Nicholas Wright has convincingly imagined himself into the life of the 20-year-old Vincent van Gogh... superlative... An evening to savour' * Evening Standard *
£10.44
Book SynopsisA fascinating investigation into the wellsprings of improvisation in theatre, dance and music, from the author of the influential House of Games. Packed with exercises and practical techniques, The Improvisation Game explores how improvisation can be used both to create performance and as an end in itself. It reveals the techniques, structures and methods used by key practitioners in the field of improvised drama, music and dance – amongst them Keith Johnstone (author of Impro), Max Stafford-Clark (Out of Joint), Phelim McDermott (Improbable Theatre), Tim Etchells (Forced Entertainment), John Wright (Trestle, Told by an Idiot) and Robert Lepage. The book also looks at many famous traditions, events and performances with improvisation at their core, ranging from the Living Theatre to the Scratch Orchestra, from John Cage to Lenny Bruce, and seeks to draw out their significance in the always evolving world of improvisation.Trade Review'essential reading... a source of inspiration and a great toolbook for budding devised theatre makers' * Total Theatre Magazine *'a vital book for everyone who wishes to engage seriously with drama improvisation – it's changed my way of thinking' * ReviewsGate.com *'offers a wealth of possibilities and pieces of good advice... valuable for beginners and experienced improvisers, as well as for teachers' * Contemporary Theatre Review *
£11.69
Book SynopsisTwo plays from Molière, by 'Scotland's greatest living dramatist' (Scotland on Sunday). Miseryguts is a Scots version of Molière's Le Misanthrope, a bitter comedy about a worldly sophisticate who cannot help telling uncomfortable truths about his fellow men – and women, with one of whom, despite himself, he is deeply and painfully in love. In this Scots version of Molière's play, Liz Lochhead transposes the action of the play into the world of media and politics in 21st-century, devolved Scotland, allowing for a rich seam of contemporary satire. Miseryguts was first performed in March 2002 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. Tartuffe is a rollicking Scots version of Molière's comic masterpiece. Lochhead brings out Molière's mix of political satire and black comedy as the religious hypocrite, Tartuffe, worms his way into Orgon's household. Liz Lochhead's version is written in a robust Scots dialect, while retaining the rhyming couplet form of the French original. It was first performed in January 1986 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.Trade Review'Scotland's greatest living dramatist' * Scotland on Sunday *
£999.99
Book SynopsisThe highly regarded actor training manual by top movement teacher Anne Dennis. This inspirational and instructive book shows how actors can use their body to be as expressive and 'articulate' as they are with words. It attempts to rethink and analyse the actor's physical needs, offering a graded series of exercises aimed at realising those needs and making the body fully articulate as a medium of expression. The book will also be of use to teachers, directors, movement directors and choreographers.
£15.29
Book SynopsisThe Nick Hern Books RSC Classics - a series of rarely performed plays from the 16th and 17th centuries, published alongside their resurrection by the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon and the West End. Eastward Ho! is a collaboratively written City Comedy by Ben Jonson, John Marston and George Chapman, which sees true love and virtue triumphing over social-climbing, deception and trickery. Teeming with energy and larger than life characters, Eastward Ho! sees Touchstone, a London goldsmith, preparing to marry off his two daughters. Touchstone's two apprentices lead the wooing until the rakish fop Sir Petronel Flash arrives on the scene. Eastward Ho! was first performed at the Blackfriars Theatre, London, in 1605. This edition of the play is edited with an introduction by Helen Ostovich and preface by Gregory Doran. The plays in the RSC Classics series reflect the diversity of styles, themes and subjects of the Elizabethan and Jacobean stage, and include a 'new' addition to the Shakespeare canon.
£9.49
Book SynopsisThe Shakespeare Folios series - offering the absolute authenticity of the First Folio in a totally accessible form. 'A quite wonderful idea... So blindingly obvious, I can't understand why nobody had thought of it before. I will certainly use the texts myself' - Peter Hall This edition accurately reproduces the text of the Shakespeare First Folio (1623), but in modern type. At a stroke the dust of ages is blown away and what Shakespeare actually intended is revealed to modern readers. Now Shakespeareans everywhere - students, actors, directors - can see for themselves what the Folio really says. As a further aid to understanding, on each opposing page the same text appears in a fully modernised version - a useful safety net whenever the Folio becomes problematic. Each volume also contains: - an introduction to the particular play - textual notes - an appendix giving variant versions from the Quarto where appropriate - a facsimile page from the First FolioTrade Review"A quite wonderful idea... So blindingly obvious, I can't understand why nobody had thought of it before. I will certainly use the texts myself" Peter Hall"
£24.94
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A Jacobean gore-fest of enforced seduction and ultimate revenge. Written in 1623, two years after The Changeling, Women Beware Women is the second of Thomas Middleton's two great tragedies. It is the story of the corruption of three young people, seduced and destroyed by the lust and treachery of the court of the Duke of Florence. This edition, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is edited and Introduced by Colin Counsell.
£6.71
Book SynopsisA hard-hitting and original family drama, winner of the 2004 Olivier Award for Most Promising Newcomer. 'the bits don't make the bulk and the bulk don't mek the whole and the all a your bits together don't make your versions true.' A blood-related black family. A Dad, a Mum, a Daughter, two Sisters, a Brother. A family argument. A skeleton in the closet... debbie tucker green's play born bad dives headlong into the powerful heart of this family, unleashing wit, ferocity and verbal dexterity on the way. It was premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2003.Trade Review'debbie tucker green is one of the most assured and extraordinary new voices we've heard in a long while. Electrifying' * Independent on Sunday *'60 minutes of thrillingly high-impact theatre. If tucker green can continue in this rich vein, her future looks assured' * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Book SynopsisA mesmerising and startling play about voyeurism, power and guilt. 'You ever woken up of a morning wondering if this one was gonna be your last – you ever got that feelin in your stomach as you lay there wonderin that? Like butterflies gone ballistic. Like butterflies gone bad.' Listening through their thin walls, Amelia and Jason are drawn into the dark and compelling world of their mutual neighbour Jo. debbie tucker green's play dirty butterfly was first performed at Soho Theatre, London, in February 2003.Trade Review'There is a sly, controlled power in this writing and it is given full rein in Rufus Norris' exquisitely acted production. And now I cannot get it out of my head' * Guardian *'A play about real people with real issues' * Time Out *'The writing is startlingly assured... The understated horror is devastating' * Independent on Sunday *
£10.44
Book SynopsisThe classic tale of Sleeping Beauty's curse – as seen through the eyes of the fairy who curses her. Written by acclaimed director Rufus Norris for the Young Vic Theatre, London. Once upon a time there was a beautiful Princess who was loved by everyone. Well... almost everyone. Cursed by a wicked fairy, she pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep. One hundred years later, a Prince wakes her with a kiss. But the Prince isn't as brave as he should be – and his mother's a bit of an ogress... Based on Perrault's 17th-century classic, Rufus Norris's Sleeping Beauty goes beyond the kiss into a perilous world of beastly shadows, nasty smells and a forest full of enchanted trouble. It was first performed at the Young Vic Theatre, London, in December 2002.Trade Review'Outstanding... mixes the mythic and the macabre... What makes the show so dazzling is Norris' ability to appeal to children and adults alike. Kids around me seemed entranced, as I was, by the unfolding narrative' * Guardian *'Weird and wonderful... Rufus Norris' darkly and drolly imaginative version... Both direct and sophisticated, primal and glintingly allusive, this Sleeping Beauty continues the Young Vic's proud tradition of mounting the best Yuletide show in London' * Independent *
£11.39
Book SynopsisThe hit show from Shared Experience Theatre Company based on the tortured and passionate life of Jean Rhys and her most famous book, Wide Sargasso Sea, the prequel to Jane Eyre. In Wide Sargasso Sea – 'one of the works of genius of the 20th century' The Times – Jean Rhys first gave voice to Bertha Mason, Mr Rochester’s first wife in Jane Eyre. Polly Teale's play is a dramatisation of Rhys’ life, placing Bertha on stage throughout as Jean’s alter ego, and giving full vent to her obsession with the 'mad woman in the attic'. After Mrs Rochester was first staged at the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End in July 2003 by Shared Experience Theatre Company.Trade Review'A revelation, a rare feat of theatrical imagining' * Evening Standard *'True dramatic dynamism – breathes new life into both subject and form' * Independent *'Has the imaginative fluency and depth of feeling that audiences have come to expect from Shared Experience at its best – a major success' * Sunday Telegraph *'Stunning... total theatre' * Mail on Sunday *
£11.69
Book SynopsisA gripping play about the nature of violence. 15-year-old Kerry and her mum have moved to a council estate. Kerry hates it. She hates her mum's new man too. But when she meets a boy in the playground and asks him to do something about it, she finds herself adrift in a landscape of physical brutality, drugs - and, eventually, love. Robert Holman's play Holes in the Skin was first performed at the Chichester Festival Theatre in June 2003.Trade Review'Marvellously mature and dramatically engrossing' * Guardian *'Hypnotic ... a shimmering, wistful evocation of lost innocence' * The Times *
£12.59
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Euripides' version of the Ancient Greek myth of revenge on a murdering parent. Electra's brother Orestes returns to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon, by his mother Clytemnestra. This edition of Electra, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton.
£5.78
Book SynopsisA sparky and moving first play about female friendship, set in contemporary Dublin. Cat and Sophie are Dublin teenagers on the brink, growing up in the face of everything a city can throw at them. How can you learn to be good when your elders are no longer your betters? Somehow, the girls must cope - or find a way of escaping. Stella Feehily's play Duck was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, in July 2003, in a production by Out of Joint. This production went on national tour, including a run at the Royal Court Theatre, London, from November 2003.Trade Review'Without doubt an adrenaline rush, a hyperventilating hymn to the age of the angry young woman' * Evening Standard *'A thrilling debut' * Sunday Times *
£999.99
Book SynopsisAn enthralling drama about the man who killed Hendrik Verwoerd, President of South Africa and the architect of South African apartheid. Written by the acclaimed actor and author of Year of the King. I.D. tells the true story of how Demetrios Tsafendas came to assassinate Verwoerd. Of mixed parentage, but classified as "White", Tsafendas is unable to marry the woman he loves because she is classified as "Coloured". Sickened by this injustice and goaded by his monstrous alter ego, Tsafendas stabs Verwoerd on the floor of the House in full view of his wife, his bodyguard and a chamber full of MPs. Antony Sher's play I.D. was first performed at the Almeida Theatre, London, in September 2003 with Sher in the role of Tsafendas. The play was inspired by the book A Mouthful of Glass by Henk van Woerden.Trade Review'A first play that is as arresting as it is original... striking stuff' * The Times *
£9.49
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price A tragic tale of duty, retribution and fate. King Agamemnon, on returning from the Trojan Wars, is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover. Now, to avenge the crime, their daughter Electra must commit one even worse and face the inevitable consequences. This edition of Sophocles' play Electra, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Marianne McDonald and J. Michael Walton.
£999.99
Book SynopsisA tough but vulnerable play about our crumbling social fabric - and the people who have to pick up the pieces. Protection is a behind-the-scenes look at a team of social workers and their 'clients' in Britain's most misunderstood public service. Angela breaks the rules to get things done - her way. Shirley misses the old days, when protection came without a price. Their manager, Gordon, is screwing Angela whilst busy claiming on expenses. And for newcomer Grace, it's a struggle simply not to piss anyone off. Fin Kennedy's play was first performed at Soho Theatre, London, in 2003.Trade Review'Real excitement lies in discovering a young writer who is more concerned with major political issues than minor domestic upsets' * Guardian *'Taut, attention-grabbing new drama... At a point when it seems easier for headlines to demonise the young and disaffected rather than focus on the cycles of abuse and betrayal that create them, Protection races the audience through a sparky evocation of individuals tackling some of the greatest problems facing Tony Blair's Britain' * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Book SynopsisThree of Scotland's top playwrights have combined forces on a single play.Trade Review'A thoughtful and quizzical piece... The great thing about Gilt is that it never gives the knee-jerk answers that you might expect... terrific' * Guardian *
£12.34
Book SynopsisAn authoritative, hands-on guide through the practical challenges involved in performing Shakespeare. Drawing on a lifetime's experience of playing Shakespearean roles, Oliver Ford Davies offers practical advice to actors, directors and drama students on a wide variety of scenes, characters, speeches and individual lines from almost every one of the plays. The three core sections of Performing Shakespeare take us through the whole process of Preparation, Rehearsal and Performance, preceded by discussions of the Elizabethan actor and Shakespeare's language. Also included are revealing interviews with other notable Shakespearean actors including Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, Harriet Walter, Simon Russell Beale and Juliet Stevenson. 'An invaluable guide to those who act and to all those who wish to gain deeper insights into the performance of Shakespeare's plays' Stanley Wells from his ForewordTrade Review'Terrific... should be read by anyone who wants to understand more about the Bard, his players, his times and today's interpretations of his stupendous creations... a great book for anyone who loves the theatre' * Observer *'It is hard to offer enough praise to this book... a tremendous knowledge of the canon... the writing is always practical and never dry or dull... might become definitive guidance for many who wish to follow in the author's footsteps' * British Theatre Guide *
£12.34
Book SynopsisDrama Classics: The World's Great Plays at a Great Little Price Molière's most-admired comedy of manners, about a man whose quickness to criticise the flaws in others, and in himself, leads him into deep trouble. Alceste, the 'misanthrope', hates all mankind, and despairs of its hypocrisy and falseness. He believes that the world could be perfected if people were more honest with each other. But when his honesty starts to make him enemies, and the target of malicious gossips, it is his world and his life which suffer. The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover (Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux) was first performed in 1666 at the Théâtre du Palais-Royal, Paris. This English version, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classics series, is translated and introduced by Stephen Mulrine.
£6.71
Book Synopsis
£24.26
![Tackling Text [and subtext]: A Step-by-Step Guide](http://bookcurl.com/cdn/shop/files/9781854597991.jpg?v=1791479000&width=645)
Book SynopsisAn intensely practical handbook for actors on how to cope with text, subtext, character and situation. With a preface by Kenneth Branagh. Having helped the actor with basic vocal technique in her enormously successful book, Finding Your Voice, Barbara Houseman here shows the actor how to cope with the demands posed by the text [and the subtext] of the play itself. Full of practical exercises developed over many years of working with actors of all ages and experiences, Tackling Text [and subtext] is an indispensable handbook for any actor working with text - from acting students and young professionals, to experienced actors wanting to tackle specific problems and acting coaches wanting to discover new ways of enabling their students. 'If you want to improve as an actor, read this book... it helps restore the hard work of the actor as fresh, playful and fun' Kenneth Branagh, from his Preface 'An inspiring teacher... a hugely motivating force in my work' Daniel Radcliffe 'Barbara's work starts with the voice, passes through the physical - and results in a character. Her teaching helps total performance' Jude LawTrade Review'Detailed, down-to-earth, useful... with one of the clearest explanations I've read of iambic pentameter' * The Stage *'As useful to the experienced actor looking for a lifeline as the beginner wanting tips about the trade' * British Theatre Guide *
£999.99
Book SynopsisA comedy drama about an all-female theatre company touring Britain during the darkest days of World War Two, written by the well-known actress and premiered in the West End. While the men are fighting Hitler and the bombs are falling on London, a 'girls only' theatre company sets out in a battered 1920s Rolls-Royce to bring Shakespeare to a culture-starved Britain. Imogen Stubbs' play We Happy Few was inspired by the real-life Osiris Players, whose travelling productions during the War inspired many to take up the profession - Judi Dench to name but one. We Happy Few was premiered at the Gielgud Theatre in the West End in June 2004 in a production directed by Trevor Nunn and starring Juliet Stevenson and Patsy Palmer. An earlier version of the play was performed in 2003 at Malvern Theatres.Trade Review'There isn't a sweeter, warmer, more likeable play in London' * The Times *'By far and away the funniest and saddest backstage play for half a century... If there has been a better or more achingly theatrical new play in the West End in the past year then I've not seen or heard of it' * Daily Express *'Very funny. A fascinating slice of social history' * Time Out *
£12.59
Book SynopsisA brilliant, haunting play from the multi-award winning author of The Weir. Ian has left the priesthood to become a therapist. John is one of his first clients. John's wife has been killed in a car accident, and he keeps receiving visits from her ghost. John, with Ian's help, starts to recover. But what begins as an unusual encounter becomes a desperate struggle between the living and the dead – a struggle which will shape and define both of them for the rest of their lives. Conor McPherson's play Shining City was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in June 2004.Trade Review'The finest dramatist of his generation... McPherson is back in business, writing magnificently' * Daily Telegraph *'Quiet, haunting and absolutely glorious... Shining City is as close to perfection as contemporary playwriting gets' * New York Times *'Moving, compassionate, ingenious and absolutely gripping ... scenes that provoke great, generous gales of laughter, others that send a shiver of fear down the spine ... riveting' * Telegraph *'Compulsively gripping... McPherson brilliantly reconciles the mundane and the metaphysical' * Guardian *'McPherson at his best, laying bare the soul in all its pathetic, flawed ordinariness' * Evening Standard *'Writing at its most riveting' * The Times *'At his best Conor McPherson is a writer who combines great character comedy with a real sense of pathos. And Shining City is Conor McPherson at his very best... Guilt, sex and therapy with a script from acting heaven' * Daily Mail *
£9.99
Book SynopsisA delightful stage version of Jane Austen's earliest novel, her mock-Gothic Romance. Catherine Morland is taken by her aunt to Bath, where she encounters the social whirl denied her at home. She befriends Isabella Thorpe and her boorish brother John. She meets the charming but eccentric Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor. And all the time her head is full of the gothic fantasies of Mrs Radcliffe's Mysteries of Udolpho, scenes from which will keep intruding into the daily life of Bath society. When Catherine accepts an invitation to the Tilney's country seat at Northanger Abbey, lurid images of Udolpho threaten to overwhelm her. Until, as in all the best Jane Austen, Catherine finally gets her man... Tim Luscombe's adaptation of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey was first performed at York Theatre Royal in 2004.Trade Review'Full credit to adaptor and director Tim Luscombe for avoiding the more obvious titles and staging an earlier work that transfers more felicitously to the stage' * Guardian *
£10.44
Book SynopsisShocking and beautiful, a powerful play about the impact of a soldier's injury in a foreign conflict on his family back home. Wounded in the war in Iraq, a young farmer-turned-soldier returns home with injuries that have extraordinary consequences. Lust, temptation, sibling rivalry and the pressures of the past combine with the struggle to maintain a rural existence. Jonathan Lichtenstein's play The Pull of Negative Gravity was first staged at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, as part of the 2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It received a Fringe First Award.Trade Review'Heartbreaking' * Guardian *'Lean, taut dialogue, gasp-inducing plot twists and spot-on characterisation... an uncomfortable yet absolutely essential piece of work' * Fest Magazine *'There are hazards in any drama dealing with the aftermath of war, in this case the Iraq conflict as experienced by a farming family in Wales. But Lichtenstein's sensitive handling of his serious subject matter... gives this play a strong shape and an emotional honesty... It's a mark of Lichtenstein's eloquence that we are caught up in the action, sharing their devastation and desperation, as they confront the awfulness of the effects of brutal modern warfare' * Independent *
£9.49
Book SynopsisA battle of wits between Cromwell and John Milton, by the well-known actor Jack Shepherd. 1656. Two revolutionaries meet in the woods at Hampton Court: the blind poet, John Milton, and his long-term comrade, Oliver Cromwell. But after the bitter ravages of revolution, regicide and civil war, freedom is hard to come to terms with. Jack Shepherd's play Through a Cloud was first staged at the Drum Theatre, Plymouth, in 2004.Trade Review'Manages to find not only humanity but also humour in two of the most important yet inscrutable figures in English history... maintains a grip on both the head and the heart' * Metro *'Orchestrates a fascinating clash between two types of revolutionary' * Independent *'Intriguing insight into life in England several years after the end of the bloody civil war... outstanding' * Evening Mail *
£9.49
Book SynopsisThree of the most famous tragedies from Ancient Greece, all featuring female protagonists - in modern, much-performed translations. This volume, in the Nick Hern Books Drama Classic Collections series, contains: Antigone by Sophocles, translated by Marianne McDonald. The first great 'resistance' drama, and perhaps the definitive Greek tragedy. Bacchae by Euripides, translated by Kenneth McLeish and Frederic Raphael. The story of revenge by the half-man half-god Dionysos on Pentheus, King of Thebes, and all his people. Medea by Euripides, translated by Kenneth McLeish and Frederic Raphael. The powerful myth of Medea, who murders her children as revenge for her husband's infidelity.
£10.44
Book Synopsis‘One no more owes one’s beauty to a lover, than one’s wit to an echo.’ With the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, the republican ban on organised theatre was lifted – and plays exploded back onto the public stage with newfound relish. The arrival of actresses for the first time encouraged a great sense of release, which expressed itself in the form of sophisticated comedies exploring the sexual behaviour and moralities of society. This volume features three of the most popular Restoration Comedies: The Country Wife by William Wycherley - a supremely bawdy comedy in which the aptly named Horner pretends to be a eunuch in order to seduce women under the noses of their husbands. The Way of the World by William Congreve - a brilliant comedy of manners, complete with dashing suitor, rich heiress and vengeful aunt. The Rover by Aphra Behn - the classic Restoration comedy by one of the earliest and most celebrated female playwrights. There is also a full introduction about the plays, playwrights and the period, and a glossary of unfamiliar words. The Drama Classic Collections bring together the most popular plays from a single author or a particular period. They offer students, actors and theatregoers a series of uncluttered, accessible editions, accompanied by comprehensive introductions.
£8.54
Book Synopsis‘She wanted spontaneity, adventure… I said I can be spontaneous… I just need a little bit of time to plan.’ Peta is new in town and ready for whatever London has to throw at her. She's looking for romance, for friendship, for exciting people to lead her on big adventures. But being an independent woman in the new millennium isn't easy, especially when there's a constant reminder of the life you're trying to escape. With each new encounter, Peta flirts with what might have been, but has the journey to London put enough distance between her and her past? Chloë Moss's play How Love Is Spelt is a fascinating and funny play, which premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2004. It was revived by Brickdust and Project One at Southwark Playhouse in 2019.Trade Review'The finest and most assured writing to be found outside the National Theatre this year... a moving and mature study of love, loneliness and the need to define one's identity... One of the year's undoubted highlights' * Evening Standard *'Moss's writing evokes these nocturnal collisions beautifully, using silence as powerfully as words, and brittle comedy as deftly as tremendous sadness' * Guardian *'A remarkably assured new talent. I can't remember a play in recent years that so adroitly captured the difficulty of being young and alone in the capital or did so with such refreshing humour...There's nothing loud or brash about this drama of youthful disillusion, but it's well worth shouting about' * Daily Telegraph *
£12.34
Book SynopsisGarcía Lorca's blood-soaked story of doomed love, in a version by playwright Tanya Ronder. On the eve of the wedding of a young couple from rival clans, the bride-to-be elopes with a former lover. The groom's mother is torn between a desire for vengeance and the instinct to protect her son. This version of Blood Wedding by Tanya Ronder was first staged at the Almeida Theatre, London, in May 2005, in a production directed by Rufus Norris and starring Gael García Bernal.Trade Review'[Ronder's] translation has the punch and power of what remains an astonishingly bold and often beautiful modern tragedy' * The Times *
£10.79
Book SynopsisThe Nick Hern Books Page to Stage series – highly accessible guides to the world's best-known plays, written by established theatre professionals to show how the plays come to life on the stage. Director Stephen Unwin takes you scene by scene through the action of Ibsen's play A Doll's House, analysing moment by moment what is actually said and done, and how the staging of these moments affects our understanding of them. Also included in this volume: a concise introduction to Ibsen and the historical background of the play; a discussion of the characters and setting; and an exploration of the possibilities for staging, lighting, costumes, props and furniture, and the sound and music. Ideal for anyone studying, teaching or performing A Doll's House, as well as anyone interested in how the play works on stage.
£9.49
Book SynopsisAn epic and provocative play about multi-racial Britain, from the UK's leading political playwright. When the District Council of Wyverdale fails to satisfy a government audit, New Labour high-flyer Alex Clifton is despatched from the capital to formulate a robust recovery plan. But racial tensions soar and good intentions have fatal consequences, as what begins as a comedy of misunderstanding soon becomes a chilling drama about multicultural Britain. David Edgar's play Playing With Fire was first staged at the National Theatre, London, in 2005. This edition includes an Afterword by the author.Trade Review'Gripping stuff' * Guardian *'More up-to-the-moment than anything else in our theatre' * The Times *
£8.54
