Nick Hern Books: 842 books

London, 1660. King Charles II has exploded onto the scene with a love of all things loud, extravagant and sexy. And at Drury Lane, a young Nell Gwynn is causing stirrings amongst the theatregoers. Nell Gwynn charts the rise of an unlikely heroine, from her roots in Coal Yard Alley to her success...

Jessica Swale's Blue Stockings is the empowering and surprising story of four young women fighting for their right to a university education in a world that assumed women belonged at home. First produced professionally at Shakespeare's Globe in 2013, and a sell-out success, it is now regularly performed...

" ‘I wish I’d had this book when I was starting out as a young director... I cannot recommend it highly enough.’ Marianne Elliott, from her Foreword This dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book in the bestselling Drama Games series offers dozens of ideas and exercises...

A remarkably candid autobiography, utterly involving and often startlingly revelatory, Beside Myself is an inspiration to young actors and a treat for seasoned theatregoers. 'I wish I'd read this book when I was starting out. Not only is Antony Sher one of the all-time greats of classical theatre,...

A gripping drama of sex, power and passion from the Spanish Golden Age. A peasant wedding. Just as Peribanez and Casilda become man and wife, the Commander of the region is carried dying to their home. His waking sight of Casilda condemns him to a desparate love. Joy turns to despair and then...

In each volume of the Shakespeare on Stage series, a leading actor takes us behind the scenes, recreating in detail a memorable performance in one of Shakespeare's major roles. They discuss their character, working through the play scene by scene, with refreshing candour and in forensic detail. The...

In each volume of the Shakespeare on Stage series, a leading actor takes us behind the scenes, recreating in detail a memorable performance in one of Shakespeare's major roles. They discuss their character, working through the play scene by scene, with refreshing candour and in forensic detail. The...

‘This book gives some of the very best of Shakespeare’s twenty-first-century colleagues an opportunity to share insights that can only come from playing him’ Nicholas Hytner, from his Foreword Twelve leading actors take us behind the scenes of landmark Shakespearean productions, each...

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,...

A guide to the hidden workings of plays and the trade secrets that govern their writing - by the acclaimed playwright Steve Waters. Drawing on a wide range of drama, both historical and modern, Waters takes the reader through the key elements of dramatic writing - scenes, acts, space, time,...

Set in the heat and dust of Andalusia in seventeenth-century Spain, Cardenio is the story of a friendship betrayed, with all the elements of a thriller: disguise, dishonour and deceit. A woman is seduced, a bride is forced to the altar, and a man runs mad among the mountains of the Sierra Morena. The...

Harry feels like life is beginning to tick down, his autumn years spent quietly caring for the community he loves. Denise thinks life begins in retirement and she’s dancing like she’s still at high school. When their paths cross at the village hall, their understanding of the time they...

An unflinching and constantly surprising drama about how we make sense of who we are through our often fraught relations with others. Winner of the Best Play Award at the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards. Shane, sixteen and scared, has fled small-town Australia for downtown Sydney....

An explosive and thought-provoking play from the author of Girls Like That, exploring what happens when buried secrets catch up with you. As Head of Year 11, Diane is meant to be implementing the new ‘Healthy Relationships’ curriculum. But then Freddie arrives. She hasn’t seen him since...