Books published by publisher NICK HERN BOOKS

Arabian Nights focuses on seven of the 1,001 tales that Sharazad told her royal husband Shahrayar each morning to stave off her threatened execution. "It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a theatre audience stamp and whistle at a curtain call, but that’s precisely how the punters greeted Dominic Cooke’s vibrant staging of these classic Eastern folk tales."--Evening Standard

Following successful adaptations of Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl's The Twits has been mischievously adapted for the stage by the brilliantly inventive playwright Enda Walsh. Dahl's funniest, stinkiest book is turned upside down, as Walsh—best known for adapting the film Once into an internationally acclaimed musical—brings this revolting revolution thrillingly to life.

The text of the edition is based primarily on the 1604 text with some readings from the 1616 version. Edited by Paul H. Kocher, this edition of The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus for performance and study features an introduction with a detailed discussion of the date, authorship, and textual questions regarding the play as well as its sources and interpretation. Also included are a list of principal dates in the life of Christopher Marlowe and a selected bibliography.

Sebastian is "that kid" at high school. He's weird. He smells. He's obsessed with comics, and talks to himself. But after a catastrophic fallout with his only friend, Claryssa, he wakes up with a moth in a jar by his bed, and a calling to save the souls of all humanity. And so begins the Passion of Sebastian: a journey into a terrifying and starless night.Declan Greene's play Moth was first produced by Arena Theatre and Malthouse Theatre at the CUB Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, in May 2010. It was premiered in the UK at HighTide Festival and the Bush Theatre, London, in 2013.

It's 1940, and Britain is at war. Young Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in town, but desperately wants it to be the best. Amidst the bombs and air raids, Chas and his friends plan their own war effort in their newly built bunker. Friendships are forged and loyalties tested, in the adventure of a lifetime.Robert Westall's The Machine Gunners has been read, studied - and loved - by successive generations of younger readers. It won the Carnegie Medal and was voted one of the most important children's novels of the past seventy years.This thrilling stage adaptation comes from the award-winning playwright Ali Taylor, and premiered at the Polka Theatre, London. It provides rich opportunities for discussion in the classroom, and for staging by schools, youth theatres and amateur companies.

Tender, uncompromising, haunting and lyrical, these four plays together comprise a contemporary chronicle of the lives of East London's young women. The plays in this volume are: The Urban Girl's Guide to Camping (Southwark Playhouse, 2010)Mehndi Night (Venue 45, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2007)Stolen Secrets (Venue 45, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2008)The Unravelling (Venue 45, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2009) These plays are the result of a unique four-year partnership between award-winning playwright Fin Kennedy and Mulberry School in East London. Originally performed by the school at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and at Southwark Playhouse, London, they are written in an ensemble storytelling style that will suit younger performance groups around the country, especially those looking for predominantly female roles. 'To say Fin Kennedy and Mulberry School for Girls are one of the best writer/education partnerships there is doesn't do them justice. To say they're one of the best companies at the Fringe comes closer' - Scotsman

An adaptation for the stage of this modern children's classic by the best-selling author and 2005 Children's Laureate.For her history project, Charlie hits on the idea of writing the diary of Lottie, a young Victorian serving girl. When Charlie's mother loses her job as a shop manageress and starts work as a cleaner, Charlie's previously happy and comfortable lifestyle is threatened, and she finds her own hardships and struggles are not so different from Lottie's.First staged at the Polka Children's Theatre in 1999, this adaptation is suitable for young actors as well as young audiences. The adapter, Vicky Ireland, has provided production notes to indicate how the play can be staged even with minimal resources - plus a lot of ingenuity!

A hard-hitting, claustrophobic drama about trying to escape your past.Pink loves Rolly. Rolly loves Pink. And Pink loves getting bombed off her face. Sisters from the same nest. Both trapped in a tiny rotting world. Both cuffed to a past that refuses to release them. One wants out. The other needs her in. Trouble is that when you complete each other, you’re nothing on your own. Pests was commissioned by Clean Break in a co-production with the Royal Court Theatre, London, and the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. It premiered at the Royal Exchanage in March 2014, before transferring to the Royal Court and touring the UK."Intense a blend of lyrical realism cut with social commentary." - Time Out (London)"Raw, visceral, painfully funny and sometimes uncomfortably intimate rings, and positively screams, with authenticity." - The Stage"Fiercely impressive powerfully intimate and tense." - The Times (London)"Heightened language that sizzles, skitters and explodes across the stage like word grenades makes us sit up and really listen." - Guardian"Rich, poetic unflinching, raw and gut-wrenching." - WhatsOnStageVivienne Franzmann’s first play Mogadishu won the 2008 Bruntwood Playwriting Competition in association with the Manchester Royal Exchange, and opened there to critical acclaim in 2011. Her other plays include The Witness for the Royal Court in 2012. Pests was written during her time as Resident Playwright for Clean Break.