The Greatest Plays of All Time

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This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 759 'best of' book lists to form a definitive guide to the world's most acclaimed books. For those interested in how these books are chosen, additional details can be found on the rankings page.

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Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
88 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
134 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
143 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
252 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
268 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
282 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
321 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
352 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
392 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
439 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
510 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
561 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
642 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
650 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
653 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
661 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
700 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
702 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
703 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
703 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
703 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
739 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
752 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
788 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
825 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
845 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
902 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
909 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
909 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
933 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
956 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
1044 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
1068 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1074 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1138 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1177 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1189 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
1256 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1335 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1364 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1368 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1373 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
1377 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1403 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1443 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1633 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1632 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1667 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1779 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
1813 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1861 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
1901 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1966 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
1982 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
2012 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2014 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
2028 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
2052 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
2108 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2119 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
2125 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
2216 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2316 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2357 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
2357 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2380 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
2408 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
2424 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2457 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
2464 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
2466 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
2474 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
2481 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2488 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2493 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2523 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2609 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
2610 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
2621 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
3052 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
3179 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
3211 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
3219 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
3223 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
3244 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
3261 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
3262 Master Harold...And The Boys Athol Fugard 1982 South African English
3267 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
3267 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
3267 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
3267 The Collected Plays Of Noel Coward Noel Coward 1979 British English
3267 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
3267 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
3267 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
3425 Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare 1598 British English
3426 The Women Clare Booth Luce 1936 American English
3427 M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang 1988 American English
3429 Copenhagen Michael Frayn 1998 British English
3450 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams 1955 American English
3528 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
3566 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
3567 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
3568 Saved Edward Bond 1965 British English
3570 Joe Turner's Come And Gone August Wilson 1984 American English
3582 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3790 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
3793 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
3795 Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega 1619 Spanish Spanish
3797 Andromache Jean Racine 1667 French French
3799 Venice Preserv'd Thomas Otway 1682 British English
3802 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
3804 The Recruiting Officer George Farquhar 1706 Irish English
3806 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
3811 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
3823 Juno And The Paycock Sean O'Casey 1924 Irish English
3825 The Chairs Eugène Ionesco 1952 French French
4323 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
4358 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
4368 Candida George Bernard Shaw 1898 Irish English
4374 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian