A haiku, an ode, a sonnet, a limerick, an elegy ... more poetry,please.
Poetry Books
Nick Hern Books The Time Machine: A Comedy
Book SynopsisWhen the worlds of science-fiction and science-fact collide… extraordinary things can happen. Dave is the great-great grandson of H.G. Wells, author of the 1895 novella The Time Machine, a book that foretold (with suspicious accuracy) the future of the human species. What if the ideas in that book weren't entirely fiction? Right now, Dave and his friends Amy and Michael must set out on a journey through time… the journey of a lifetime! The Time Machine: A Comedy is (very loosely) adapted from H.G. Wells by Steven Canny and John Nicholson, whose previous adaptation of The Hound of the Baskervilles was a hit in the West End and subsequently for numerous companies worldwide. It was first produced in 2023 on a tour of the UK, before a run at Park Theatre, London, produced by Original Theatre and directed by Orla O'Loughlin. Fast-paced and wise-cracking, this riotous retelling zips from the nineteenth century to the end of the world, and (with any luck) back again. It will suit any theatre company looking for a time-bending adaptation of a well-loved story – and a surefire audience-pleaser.Trade Review'Breathtaking… gloriously silly, unrestrained fun' * The Stage *'Exquisitely entertaining… thoroughly, ridiculously amusing' * Indiependent *'Glorious... an amusing, witty, imaginative show hinging on actual time travel, as it pivots around a gleefully ridiculous plot twist... it ends very amusingly indeed' * Time Out *'A rollercoaster ride through time and space' * What's On Bristol *'Unmissable... many laugh out loud surprises... a weird and wonderful story that seems simple on the outside but has a lot of layers (each one just as funny as the last) that slowly but surely get peeled away... two hours of pure nonsense and humour... It all blends together perfectly, with plenty of energy, some hilarious Goes Wrong-style problems, and a finale that is bizarre and wonderful, yet perfectly in keeping with everything that's just gone before... If you're looking for an evening of pure silliness that sends you out into the night with a smile on your face, The Time Machine: A Comedy fits the bill' * Everything Theatre *'Jolly good fun... part backstage farce, part Doctor Who special, underpinned by a celebratory silliness' * LondonTheatre1 *'A real hoot... unpretentious and easy-flowing, with a lot of laughter... side-splitting and unpredictable' * Broadway World *'Steven Canny and John Nicholson's script gleefully takes inspiration from the source material while offering us something new... delivers consistent surprises and genuine laugh out loud moments' * Theatre Weekly *'A thorough celebration of the comedic arsenal... H.G. Wells on speed' * British Theatre Guide *'A triumph... Steven Canny and John Nicholson have once again created a hit show, using their incredibly witty writing style to deliver a script that is fast paced, slick and easy to follow... utterly insane from beginning to end' * London Theatre Reviews *'A wild and crazy ride... highly entertaining' * Sardines Magazine *'A triumphant success... one of the most hilarious explorations of the theory of time travel' * The Spy in the Stalls *'A work of some mad genius... a humorous and emotionally turbulent show with a truly brilliant script... Every moment is perfectly crafted... The writing stays true to the sentiment of Wells' novel, giving us a glimpse into how the time travelling tropes that we know and love have developed into what they are today' * Broadway Baby *'Delightful... a must-see for the holiday season... a winning combination of outright stupidity and truly engaging storytelling' * All That Dazzles *'If you are a fan of comedic mishaps, outrageous innuendo, Cher tribute songs and hip hop Wilde mashups, I'd suggest that time waits for no one and you'd better run to see this show' * Theatre and Tonic *'Very clever and highly enjoyable... a play where everything that can possibly happen happens - twice' * Reviews Hub *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books This Might Not Be It
Book Synopsis'You care a lot, that's nice. It shows your age.' Jay's new. He's just started as a temp in NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. He arrives with little more than a fledgling desk plant and well-meaning plans to change the broken system. Angela's been working here for over thirty years and nothing seems to faze her – except Jay. Exhausted and worn down by archaic protocol, Jay starts bending the rules in a desperate attempt to help their patients. But when professional boundaries are crossed and trust is shattered, he discovers the harsh reality of what's truly at stake. Sophia Chetin-Leuner's play This Might Not Be It is a candid portrayal of human lives at the mercy of our crumbling NHS. The play was longlisted for the Verity Bargate Award and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Playwriting. It was premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2023, directed by Ed Madden and produced by Broccoli Arts and Jessie Anand Productions.Trade Review'The beauty of this piece is that it speaks in a universal language about the way people find ways of co-existing in an office where space is tight and time is short' * The Times *'Intriguing and immensely engaging' * Guardian *'Timely and compelling... the characters are startlingly vivid, filled with hopes, flaws and intriguing contradictions' * The Stage *'Affecting, with much to admire' * Telegraph *'A mirror to our times, forcing an audience to choose whether they will care for others in a system that actively dehumanises them or whether they will fight for a better tomorrow... The play has a wonderful flow to it... expertly renders the characters with a truthful relatability' * Reviews Hub *'Strikingly honest and human... beautifully layered... writing of wonderful precision, insight and perspective' * West End Best Friend *'A devastatingly accurate vision of the NHS's crumbling mental health service' * London Theatre *'An honest look into the every day of NHS mental health workers that starkly lays bare the failings of a collapsing healthcare system' * The Upcoming *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books A Child of Science
Book SynopsisA play about one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs of our time: the procedure that led to the first 'test-tube baby' and the creation of IVF.
£10.79
Nick Hern Books A Song for Ella Grey
Book Synopsis'I'm the one who's left behind. I'm the one to tell the tale. I knew them both, knew how they lived and how she died.' Ella Grey and her friends are ordinary kids from ordinary families in an ordinary world. They fall in and out of love, play music, stare at the stars, yearn for excitement, and have parties on the beautiful beaches of Northumberland. One day a stranger – a musician called Orpheus – appears on the beach, entrancing them all, but particularly Ella. Where have they come from and what path will Ella follow? A Song for Ella Grey is a version of the myth of Orpheus that sings of the madness of youth, the ache of love, and the near-impossibility of grasping death. Zoe Cooper's stage adaptation of David Almond's award-winning novel was first produced in 2024 by Pilot Theatre, in association with Northern Stage and York Theatre Royal. This edition includes the full text of the play along with a range of teaching materials and resources designed to help educators bring the play to life for their students. Praise for the novel: 'Infused with lyricism and with the fire and oddness of adolescence. Fresh, involving and lucid, it is a song in itself and teens will find it fills them with poignant longing and joy' Telegraph 'The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold against a wild Northumbrian landscape: life, death, love and myths. Just wonderful' Bookseller 'Extraordinary' Metro 'Spell-binding… impossible to resist' HeraldTrade Review'Soulful and imaginative... admirably answers the questions posed by David Almond's novel... timeless, fractured and haunting' * Guardian *'A stylish and seductive retelling of the Orpheus myth... Lacing its dreamy mysticism with sharp humour, Zoe Cooper's clever adaptation captures the raw intensity not just of first love, but of all the complex bonds of youth... a refreshing take on a classic that feels both immediate and timeless' * The Stage *
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Standing at the Skys Edge
Book SynopsisChris Bush and Richard Hawley's musical, a history of modern Britain told through the stories of one Sheffield housing estate. Winner of the Best New Musical award at the 2023 Olivier Awards.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Foam
Book SynopsisA gripping play that examines the nature of identity and the consequences of right-wing extremist ideology against the backdrop of London's skinhead and gay scenes of the 1970s and 1980s.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Cassie and the Lights
Book SynopsisA tender and playful drama that examines what makes a family and what holds it together.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Bounds
Book SynopsisA darkly comedic tale of national divides, folk horror and the end of the world as we know it. Premiered at Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Royal Court Theatre, London.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Women of Llanrumney
Book SynopsisA powerful, searing drama that explores the impact of slavery and the lives of women who experienced it. Premiered at the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Sugar Wife
Book SynopsisLove, lust, prostitution and slavery in a 19th-century Quaker household. New edition published alongside the 2024 revival at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Red Pitch
Book SynopsisA fast-paced and sharp-edged play telling a coming-of-age story about three young footballers, exploring the impact of gentrification and regeneration on London's communities. Winner of the 2022 George Devine Award.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Fanny
Book SynopsisA joyful and irreverent comedy about Felix Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny, celebrating music, family and at last the work of a composer overlooked because of her sex.
£10.79
Theatre Communications Group Bindweed
Book SynopsisJudges'' Award, Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting - 2022Four men convicted of domestic abuse offences meet each week to undergo a perpetrator program. But as Jen, the new group facilitator, starts to make progress with the men inside the room, life outside begins to buckle.A shattering and darkly funny play about responsibility and rehabilitation, Martha Loader''sBindweedlooks at what can be done to tackle abuse at its root.The play was the winner of the Judges'' Award at the 2022 Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting, and was first performed at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, in 2024, in a co-production with HighTide and the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, and in association with the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester.
£10.79
Nick Hern Books Surrender
Book SynopsisA gripping play about a woman trying to survive in a punishing and dysfunctional penal system that has separated her from her daughter. Premiered at the Arcola Theatre, London, in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Shout
Book SynopsisA funny, moving drama about anxiety, celebrating difference, and finding your voice as a teenager. Part of the 2024 National Theatre Connections Festival.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Lightest Element
Book SynopsisA stage drama about Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, one of the most eminent astronomers of the twentieth century. Premiered at Hampstead Theatre, London, in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books King Troll The Fawn
Book SynopsisA dystopian stage play exploring migrant experiences in all their complexity and the troll that lives within all of us. Premiered by Kali Theatre at New Diorama Theatre, London, in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Bellringers
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Nick Hern Books The Sound Inside
Book SynopsisA riveting play about a creative writing professor at Yale and her brilliant, rebellious student, exploring the limits of what one person can ask of another.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Princess Essex
Book SynopsisA riotous, satirical comedy based on the amazing true story of the first woman of colour to enter a beauty pageant in the UK. First performed at Shakespeare's Globe, London, in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Sandpaper on Sunburn
Book SynopsisThe personal becomes political in a funny and fascinating play exploring identity and family. Premiered at the Dublin Theatre Festival in September 2024.
£10.79
Nick Hern Books Dizzy
Book SynopsisA fantastical, theatrical adventure through the underground world of street art and the hidden patterns in our universe. Premiered on UK tour by Theatre Centre and Sheffield Theatres in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Whitby Rebels
Book SynopsisA joyful stage play telling the (mostly) true story of a boatload of misfits on a misconceived mission to the Arctic. Premiered in 2024 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books After the Act
Book SynopsisA funny, camp and unapologetically queer musical about Thatcher's Section 28 and the moral panic that gripped a nation and how a community decided to fight back.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Oedipus
Book SynopsisAn intimate and revelatory version of Sophocles' transcendent tragedy, premiered at the Old Vic, London, in 2025, starring Rami Malek and Indira Varma.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Robin Hood and the Christmas Heist
Book SynopsisA charming retelling of the Robin Hood adventure - festive fun for all the family. Premiered at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books An Interrogation
Book SynopsisA gripping drama from the director of the smash hit SIX: The Musical. At Hampstead Theatre in January 2025.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Shanghai Dolls
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Nick Hern Books Otherland
Book SynopsisA play exploring what it means to be true to yourself in the face of unstoppable change, from the writer of Standing at the Sky's Edge. Premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2025.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Delay
Book SynopsisA suspenseful, heart-wrenching yet hopeful stage drama about saying what you mean, and saying goodbye. Premiered at Bristol Old Vic in 2025.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Unicorn
Book SynopsisAn explicit, funny and provocative play about a married couple looking to add sparkle to their relationship. Premiered in London's West End in 2025.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Elektra
Book SynopsisThe timeless Greek tragedy, in a magisterial translation by award-winning poet, essayist and translator Anne Carson. Published alongside the West End production in 2025.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Hills of California
Book SynopsisThe Webb Sisters are returning to their mother's run-down guest house in Blackpool, in a play by the author of Jerusalem and The Ferryman, premiered in the West End in 2024.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books My Master Builder
Book SynopsisA startling new take on Ibsen's classic play, premiered in the West End in 2025, directed by Michael Grandage, with a cast including Ewan McGregor.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Speed
Book SynopsisA wickedly comic play set around a speed awareness course. Premiered at the Bush Theatre, London, in 2025, directed by Milli Bhatia.
£10.44
Nick Hern Books The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs
Book SynopsisA heart-warming stage comedy about love, queerness, and belonging, featuring the only lesbian choir in the country. Revised edition published alongside the 2025 revival at Kiln Theatre, London.
£10.79
Nick Hern Books Mrs. Warrens Profession
Book SynopsisBernard Shaw's incendiary moral classic, in a version edited and introduced by director Dominic Cooke. Seen in the West End in 2025, starring real-life mother and daughter Imelda Staunton and Bessie Carter.
£999.99
Nick Hern Books The Lunch Punch Power Hour in Conference Room 4
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£10.44
Nick Hern Books Lost Atoms
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Paradise Now
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Bog Witch
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Ragdoll
£10.44
Nick Hern Books Bird Grove
a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.
£10.44
Flame Tree Publishing Ramayana: Classic Tales
Book SynopsisThe Ramayana tells the tale of Rama and his beloved Sita, but its narratives and intent, as with all great literature, point to the grand themes of life, death and righteousness. Originally written in ancient Sanskrit, the elegant, epic work is a key part of the canon of both Hinduism and Buddhism. It continues to inspire art, theatre, poetry and temple architecture, dominating the spiritual landscape of the vast Indian sub-continent and the diaspora throughout the rest of the world. This deluxe new edition revives Ralph T. H. Griffith's evocative verse translation and abridges it for the modern reader – bringing the gripping narrative to the forefront. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.
£17.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Threesome
Book SynopsisA feast of finely tuned extra-marital mayhem from the master of French farce.
£10.79
Bloomsbury Publishing (UK) TOM AND VIV
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£10.79
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Verbatim, Verbatim: Contemporary Documentary
Book SynopsisFive specially commissioned discussions of verbatim theatre - in the words of the people who make it. 'What a verbatim play does is flash your research nakedly. It’s like cooking a meal but the meat is left raw.’ - Max Stafford-Clark Plays which use people’s actual words as the basis for their dramaare not a new phenomenon. But from the stages of national theatres to fringe venues and universities everywhere, ‘verbatim’ theatre, as it has come to be known, is currently enjoying unprecedented attention and success. It has also attracted high-profile criticism and impassioned debate. In these wide-ranging essays and interviews, six leading dramatists describe their varying approaches to verbatim, examine the strengths and weaknesses of its techniques and explore the reasons for its current popularity. They discuss frankly the unique opportunities and ethical dilemmas that arise when portraying real people on stage, and consider some of the criticisms levelled at this controversial documentary form. 'The intention is always to arrive at the truth.' - Nicolas Kent
£15.99
Everyman Sonnets: From Dante to the Present
Book Synopsis‘‘A sonnet is a moment’s monument,’’ said Dante Gabriel Rossetti in a sonnet about sonnets. The sonnets in this collection – whether they capture moments of perception, recognition, despair or celebration – reveal how great an amount of feeling, insight and experience can be concentrated into a mere fourteen lines. Here are classics such as Milton’s ‘‘On His Blindness’’, Yeats’s ‘‘Leda and the Swan’’ and Frost’s ‘‘The Oven Bird’’, juxtaposed with the mischievous wit of Rupert Brooke’s ‘‘Sonnet Reversed’’, the lyric defiance of Mona Van Duyn’s ‘‘Caring for Surfaces’’ and the comic poignancy of Philip Larkin’s ‘‘To Failure’’. From the lovelorn laments of Dante and Petrarch to the artful heights of Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare, from the masterpieces of Wordsworth and Keats to the innovations of Elizabeth Bishop, Wallace Stevens and James Merrill, the sonnet has proved both versatile and enduring. This delightful anthology displays the incredible range and power of the verse form that has inspired poets across the centuries.
£10.44
