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
100 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
120 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
129 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
196 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
204 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
224 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
225 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
277 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
299 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
397 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
404 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
458 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
476 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
480 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
524 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
525 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
526 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
551 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
575 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
578 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
615 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
619 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
638 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
649 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
657 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
677 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
715 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
774 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
782 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
782 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
868 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
957 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1083 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
1100 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
1162 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1214 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
1220 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1315 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1398 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1414 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1424 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1449 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
1451 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1459 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
1500 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1506 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
1550 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1561 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1569 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
1601 King Ubu Alfred Jarry 1896 French French
1651 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1658 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1702 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1709 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
1710 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
1776 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
1825 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
1845 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1875 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1986 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
2033 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2039 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
2070 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
2084 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2088 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2089 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
2091 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
2126 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2155 The Knights Aristophanes -424 Greek Ancient greek
2155 The Works Of John Dryden John Dryden 1808 British English
2155 The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1775 Irish English
2331 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2417 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2423 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2426 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
2426 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2559 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
2627 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2634 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2643 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2658 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2693 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2734 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
2758 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
2763 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2767 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
2774 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
2776 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
2800 Henry IV, Part II William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2871 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
2877 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
2882 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht 1943 German German
2891 Richard Ii William Shakespeare 1595 British English
2927 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
3057 The Way Of The World William Congreve 1700 British English
3103 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
3182 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
3362 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
3379 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Heracles Euripides -416 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Hecuba Euripides -424 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Orestes Euripides -408 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Andromache Euripides -425 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Ion Euripides -413 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Iphigenia At Aulis Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
3446 The Frogs Aristophanes -405 Greek Ancient greek
3446 The Wasps Aristophanes -422 Greek Ancient greek
3446 Complete Plays And Poems Christopher Marlowe 1587 British English
3651 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3669 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
3688 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
3693 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
3741 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
3769 Everyman Unknown 1501 Unknown Middle english
3781 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
3861 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
3886 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
3901 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
3901 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
3975 Private Lives Noel Coward 1930 British English