The Bruntwood Prize is the biggest national competition for playwriting. With prize money totalling £40,000, plus the chance of a production on a major stage, as well as publication by Nick Hern Books, it's a fabulous opportunity for writers. Since its inception in 2005, over 11,000 scripts have been entered, more than £200,000 has been … Continue reading Bruntwood Prize for Playwriting: the first ten years
Actions: The 60-Second Challenge
We gave an actor a copy of our Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus app to see how many ways he could deliver the same line: 'Do you want a cup of tea?' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohbh3bo5HDA What are 'actions'? Actors need actions. You cannot act moods. You need to be doing something with every line. You need an aim … Continue reading Actions: The 60-Second Challenge
Nick Hern on his conversations with Arthur Miller
Today, 17 October 2015, marks one hundred years since the birth of one of the twentieth-century's greatest playwrights: Arthur Miller. In this extract from Mel Gussow's book Conversations with Miller, which is published in a new Centenary Edition to celebrate the occasion, publisher and NHB founder Nick Hern shares his own memories of Miller - … Continue reading Nick Hern on his conversations with Arthur Miller
Drama Online: the Netflix of Theatre
This week saw the launch of the Nick Hern Books Collection on Drama Online, a groundbreaking new educational resource for reading and studying drama. Here, NHB's Digital Editor Tim Digby-Bell explains how it works, and how it sheds new light on familiar plays. Finally, it's launch week. We've been working hard preparing a selection of … Continue reading Drama Online: the Netflix of Theatre
‘The pain of celebrity’: Ian Kelly on Mr Foote’s Other Leg
Ian Kelly wrote an award-winning biography of the once-notorious eighteenth-century comedian, Samuel Foote. Now he's acting in his own stage version of the story alongside Simon Russell Beale in a sold-out production directed by Richard Eyre. Here he explains why his one-legged protagonist, who rose to fame and celebrity only to be toppled in a … Continue reading ‘The pain of celebrity’: Ian Kelly on Mr Foote’s Other Leg
Edinburgh Fringe Report 2015 Part 2: The Final Reckoning
The Edinburgh Fringe is over for another year, but how did our intrepid amateur companies get on performing plays licensed by Nick Hern Books? We hear from three of them as they recount the highs – and the lows – of mounting a production on the Fringe. (If you missed the first instalment, it's available … Continue reading Edinburgh Fringe Report 2015 Part 2: The Final Reckoning
‘It’s not so much about the gift, but the graft’ – Lyndsey Winship on Being a Dancer
In her new book Being a Dancer, dance critic and arts journalist Lyndsey Winship shares invaluable advice and insight taken from exclusive interviews with twenty-five leading dancers and choreographers, including Carlos Acosta, Matthew Bourne, Darcey Bussell and Tamara Rojo. Here she reflects on her own personal love affair with dance, and what compiling the book … Continue reading ‘It’s not so much about the gift, but the graft’ – Lyndsey Winship on Being a Dancer
Edinburgh Fringe Report 2015 Part I: cutting it at the fringe
Taking a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe can be daunting, exhausting, and about as financially sound as betting on the Chinese stock market. But it can also be a hugely rewarding experience for cast and crew, and even for audiences. Plus, if you're really on top of your game, there's a chance it might … Continue reading Edinburgh Fringe Report 2015 Part I: cutting it at the fringe
Louise Dearman and Mark Evans on their Secrets of Stage Success
Louise Dearman (Wicked, Cats, Evita) and Mark Evans (Ghost, The Book of Mormon) are two of the biggest musical-theatre stars working today. As they launch their new book Secrets of Stage Success - answering all your questions on how to follow in their footsteps - they recall some key moments in their glittering careers... I … Continue reading Louise Dearman and Mark Evans on their Secrets of Stage Success
Girls centre stage: Lucy Kerbel on building a new canon of writing for young actors
Good roles for young female actors are in short supply, so Tonic Theatre set out to change that by commissioning a series of new plays with mainly or entirely female casts for schools and youth theatre groups to perform. As the first three plays in the Platform series are published by Nick Hern Books and … Continue reading Girls centre stage: Lucy Kerbel on building a new canon of writing for young actors
The Prompt Book 