Enhance your craft and find inspiration with these must-read titles for performers.
To celebrate World Book Day, we teamed up with the renowned performing arts publishers Nick Hern Books to curate this reading list for performers. Whether you’re looking to sharpen your physical skills, dive into the psyche of a character, or find your next audition monologue, these titles offer a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for every stage of your career.
1. Adolescence: The Scripts
By Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham
Adolescence became one of Netflix’s most-watched series of all time, garnering multiple awards, including eight Emmys. This volume provides actors with the unique opportunity to study the full shooting scripts. Enhanced by commentary from creators Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham and Philip Barantini, it offers rare insights into the transition from page to screen.
View at Nick Hern Books
2. Stage Combat: Armed (Rapier & Dagger)
By Roger Bartlett
Physicality is at the heart of performance. Written by a Master Teacher from the British Academy of Stage and Screen Combat, this is an essential resource for any actor preparing for a period role. With clearly illustrated techniques and accompanying online videos, it ensures you can approach swordplay with both safety and flair.
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3. The Actor and the Space
By Declan Donnellan
From the founder of Cheek by Jowl and author of The Actor and the Target, this follow-up explores how an actor interacts with the space around them. Using a line-by-line analysis of Macbeth, Donnellan provides a practical roadmap for rehearsal and performance that is both profound and indispensable.
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4. More Than One Story: An Anthology of Monologues on Homelessness and Poverty
Curated by Cardboard Citizens
If you are searching for contemporary, challenging audition material, this anthology is a vital resource. Featuring works by household names like Malorie Blackman alongside 22 new voices, these monologues offer a multifaceted portrait of life in the UK today, ideal for actors seeking roles with depth and social relevance.
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5. A Year of Creative Thinking: 366 Daily Inspirations for Writers and Artists
By Jessica Swale
Maintaining a creative spark between acting jobs can be difficult. Award-winning director Jessica Swale provides a treasure trove of daily prompts and exercises to test your limits. Endorsed by the likes of Emerald Fennell and Zooey Deschanel, this book is a daily companion for the working artist.
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6. Into the Woods
By Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
Published alongside its critically acclaimed revival at the Bridge Theatre, this first UK edition of Into the Woods is one any musical theatre fan will want to get their hands on. Alongside the complete text of the musical spun from beloved fairytales, it also features an exclusive introduction by David Benedict, Sondheim’s authorised biographer.
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7. Stereophonic
By David Adjmi
The electrifying Tony Award-winning play is set inside the elusive world of a recording studio, as a rock band on the brink of superstardom attempts to create their difficult second album. Stereophonic is the most Tony-nominated play of all time and has also been shortlisted for Best Play at the 2025 Standard Theatre Awards and Best New Play at the 2026 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.
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8. Inter Alia
By Suzie Miller
From the powerhouse creative team behind the global phenomenon Prima Facie, this searing play explores modern masculinity and motherhood. Through the role of ‘Jessica Parks’ – a maverick Crown Court Judge whose professional crusade for justice collides with a devastating family crisis – the play offers a masterclass in high-stakes character study. Inter Alia transfers to Wyndham’s Theatre in the West End in March 2026 and is nominated for Best New Play at the 2026 Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards.
View at Nick Hern Books
If you’re interested in keeping up with the best new writing and emerging playwrights, a good place to start is this year’s list of nominees for Best New Playwright at the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2026, all of which are published by Nick Hern Books:
Reading plays offers an exciting and unique opportunity to visit new worlds and imagine beloved ones anew. As each is packed to the brim with dialogue, they’re the best place to discover rich monologues and audition material.
Whether you are delving into the award-winning scripts of the Critics’ Circle Theatre Awards 2026 nominees – like Ava Pickett’s 1536 or Shaan Sahota’s The Estate – or exploring modern classics like Suzie Miller’s Inter Alia, there is a world of drama waiting for you.
Happy World Book Day – and happy reading!
