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
129 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
134 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
223 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
241 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
264 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
288 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
320 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
359 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
402 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
460 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
576 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
594 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
598 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
603 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
635 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
647 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
648 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
648 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
648 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
676 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
681 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
704 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
752 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
775 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
784 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
825 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1944 American English
832 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
832 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
859 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
879 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
956 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
979 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1039 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
1078 Hedda Gabler Henrik Ibsen 1890 Norwegian Norwegian
1088 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
1142 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1205 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
1238 She Stoops to Conquer Oliver Goldsmith 1773 British English
1239 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1256 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
1280 The Imaginary Invalid Molière 1673 French French
1323 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
1433 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
1494 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1493 Julius Caesar William Shakespeare 1623 British English
1534 Le Cid Pierre Corneille 1637 French French
1606 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
1641 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
1723 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1802 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
1848 Don Juan Molière 1665 French French
1851 The Would-Be Gentleman Molière 1670 French French
1863 The Miser Molière 1668 French French
1893 The Father August Strindberg 1887 Swedish Swedish
1911 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
1949 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
1963 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
2029 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
2152 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
2175 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
2186 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
2186 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
2220 Henry IV, Part I William Shakespeare 1597 British English
2241 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
2259 Miss Julie August Strindberg 1888 Swedish Swedish
2286 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
2290 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
2303 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
2311 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
2335 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2411 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
2412 The School For Scandal Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1777 British English
2425 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
2882 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
2991 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
3025 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
3032 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
3035 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
3059 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
3078 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
3079 Master Harold...And The Boys Athol Fugard 1982 South African English
3084 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
3084 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
3084 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
3188 Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare 1598 British English
3190 The Women Clare Booth Luce 1936 American English
3192 M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang 1988 American English
3194 Copenhagen Michael Frayn 1998 British English
3211 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams 1955 American English
3299 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
3347 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
3350 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
3351 Saved Edward Bond 1965 British English
3355 Joe Turner's Come And Gone August Wilson 1984 American English
3378 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
3594 The Assemblywomen Aristophanes -391 Greek Ancient greek
3599 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
3602 Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega 1619 Spanish Spanish
3605 Andromache Jean Racine 1667 French French
3609 Venice Preserv'd Thomas Otway 1682 British English
3610 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
3612 The Recruiting Officer George Farquhar 1706 Irish English
3614 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
3618 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
3623 The Theater and Its Double Antonin Artaud 1938 French French
3634 Juno And The Paycock Sean O'Casey 1924 Irish English
3638 The Chairs Eugène Ionesco 1952 French French
4189 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
4200 Candida George Bernard Shaw 1898 Irish English
4206 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
4274 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
4274 Η Αυλή των Θαυμάτων Iakovos Kambanellis 1962 Greek Greek
4746 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
4746 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
4746 The Complete Plays of T. S. Eliot T. S. Eliot 1969 British English
4823 John Annie Baker 2015 American English
5081 Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet 1974 American English
5081 Kaspar and Other Plays Peter Handke 1967 Austrian German
5081 Everyman Unknown 1501 Unknown Middle english