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
104 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
123 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
130 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
177 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
202 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
234 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
243 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
301 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
310 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
380 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
408 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
433 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
450 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
485 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
502 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
533 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
557 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
558 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
559 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
571 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
627 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
642 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
653 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
657 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
677 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
688 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
736 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
775 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
825 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
825 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
837 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
842 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1008 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1095 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1107 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
1109 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1125 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
1360 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
1367 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1459 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1495 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1503 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1575 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
1604 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1615 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
1622 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1649 King Ubu Alfred Jarry 1896 French French
1702 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1704 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1713 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
1746 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1752 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
1809 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1823 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
1867 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
1873 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
1904 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1935 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1948 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
2004 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
2104 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
2142 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2146 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2147 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
2148 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
2175 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
2182 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2206 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
2225 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2225 The Knights Aristophanes -424 Greek Ancient greek
2225 The Works Of John Dryden John Dryden 1808 British English
2225 The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1775 Irish English
2399 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2511 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2514 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2515 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
2637 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
2681 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2691 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2700 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2720 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2719 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2761 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2801 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
2827 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
2838 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2840 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
2846 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
2848 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
2958 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
2966 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
2971 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht 1943 German German
3012 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
3199 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
3275 Henry IV, Part II William Shakespeare 1600 British English
3289 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
3455 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
3470 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
3474 Richard Ii William Shakespeare 1595 British English
3555 Heracles Euripides -416 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Hecuba Euripides -424 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Orestes Euripides -408 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Andromache Euripides -425 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Ion Euripides -413 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Iphigenia At Aulis Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
3555 The Frogs Aristophanes -405 Greek Ancient greek
3555 The Wasps Aristophanes -422 Greek Ancient greek
3555 Complete Plays And Poems Christopher Marlowe 1587 British English
3648 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3661 The Way Of The World William Congreve 1700 British English
3668 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
3692 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
3737 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
3767 Everyman Unknown 1501 Unknown Middle english
3781 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
3847 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
3869 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
3887 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
3887 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
3959 Private Lives Noel Coward 1930 British English