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
96 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
126 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
136 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
198 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
202 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
226 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
235 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
293 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
302 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
371 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
403 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
427 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
442 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
477 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
494 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
542 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
544 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
543 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
556 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
616 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
633 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
643 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
667 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
679 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
699 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
722 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
760 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
808 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
808 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
820 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
905 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
986 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1073 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1085 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
1087 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1103 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
1290 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1330 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
1338 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1428 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1464 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1472 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1542 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
1569 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1580 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
1588 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1616 King Ubu Alfred Jarry 1896 French French
1670 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1672 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1682 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
1716 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1722 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
1779 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1793 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
1837 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
1843 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
1874 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1905 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1918 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
1972 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
2074 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
2113 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2117 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2118 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
2119 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
2148 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
2155 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2181 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
2200 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2200 The Knights Aristophanes -424 Greek Ancient greek
2200 The Works Of John Dryden John Dryden 1808 British English
2200 The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1775 Irish English
2375 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2475 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2479 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2480 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
2602 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
2648 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2658 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2668 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2688 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2685 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2730 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2757 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
2783 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
2794 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2796 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
2802 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
2804 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
2912 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
2920 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
2925 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht 1943 German German
2965 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
3149 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
3225 Henry IV, Part II William Shakespeare 1600 British English
3239 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
3406 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
3421 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
3425 Richard Ii William Shakespeare 1595 British English
3505 Heracles Euripides -416 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Hecuba Euripides -424 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Orestes Euripides -408 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Andromache Euripides -425 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Ion Euripides -413 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Iphigenia At Aulis Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
3505 The Frogs Aristophanes -405 Greek Ancient greek
3505 The Wasps Aristophanes -422 Greek Ancient greek
3505 Complete Plays And Poems Christopher Marlowe 1587 British English
3600 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3613 The Way Of The World William Congreve 1700 British English
3620 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
3644 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
3690 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
3720 Everyman Unknown 1501 Unknown Middle english
3733 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
3798 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
3819 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
3837 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
3837 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
3908 Private Lives Noel Coward 1930 British English