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
91 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
125 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
130 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
205 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
242 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
245 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
286 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
287 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
376 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
402 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
459 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
593 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
612 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
627 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
640 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
640 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
640 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
678 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
689 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
692 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
738 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
769 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
796 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
823 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
837 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
846 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
846 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
877 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
895 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
903 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
929 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1025 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
1047 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1106 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
1210 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1308 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1427 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1458 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1555 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1560 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1598 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1620 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1619 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1639 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1654 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
1669 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1695 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1860 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1937 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2357 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
2383 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2417 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
2419 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
2422 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
2423 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
2423 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2476 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
2506 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
2592 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
2593 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2626 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2635 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2679 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
2719 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2731 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
2740 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2744 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2768 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2792 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
2913 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
2920 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
3042 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
3118 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
3127 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3337 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
3399 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
3400 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
3911 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
3921 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
3922 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
3953 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
3961 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
3977 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
4063 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
4063 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
4513 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
4533 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
4533 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
4533 The Complete Plays of T. S. Eliot T. S. Eliot 1969 British English
4669 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
4669 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
4669 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
4902 Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare 1598 British English
4909 Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet 1974 American English
4909 Kaspar and Other Plays Peter Handke 1967 Austrian German
4909 Everyman Unknown 1501 Unknown Middle english
4909 An Enemy of the People Henrik Ibsen 1882 Norwegian Norwegian
4909 Thyestes Seneca 62 Roman Latin
4992 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
5364 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams 1955 American English
5403 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
5482 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
5485 Saved Edward Bond 1965 British English
5484 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
5491 Joe Turner's Come And Gone August Wilson 1984 American English
5611 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
5611 The Dyskolos Menander -316 Greek Ancient greek
5611 Apu Ollontay Peru 1780 Peruvian Quechua
5611 The Works of George Peele George Peele 1593 British English
5716 The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett 1986 Irish English
5905 The Island Of Slaves Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1725 French French
5918 Tiger At The Gates Jean Giraudoux 1935 French French
5970 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
5971 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
5972 Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega 1619 Spanish Spanish
5974 Venice Preserv'd Thomas Otway 1682 British English
5973 Andromache Jean Racine 1667 French French
5977 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
5975 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
5976 The Recruiting Officer George Farquhar 1706 Irish English