The Greatest Drama and Plays of All Time

Click to learn how this list is calculated.

This list represents a comprehensive and trusted collection of the greatest books. Developed through a specialized algorithm, it brings together 488 '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.

Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
63 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 British English
76 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
84 Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 German German
111 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
122 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
129 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
131 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British English
156 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
224 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
254 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
317 La Celestina Fernando de Rojas 1499 Spanish Spanish
322 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
431 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
439 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
466 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
578 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
587 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
656 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
680 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
682 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
689 The Bacchae Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
760 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
810 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
812 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
811 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
858 A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 1947 American English
883 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
928 Death Of A Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 American English
945 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
960 Prometheus Bound Aeschylus -455 Greek Ancient greek
964 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
999 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
1016 Six Characters in Search of an Author Luigi Pirandello 1921 Italian Italian
1052 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
1184 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1189 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
1200 The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde 1895 Irish English
1247 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
1269 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
1269 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
1282 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
1285 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
1314 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1377 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
1382 The Recognition of Sakuntala Kālidāsa -400 Indian Sanskrit
1494 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe 1604 British English
1530 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
1560 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1647 Bohemian Lights Ramón del Valle-Inclán 1920 Spanish Spanish
1661 Rameau's Nephew Denis Diderot 1761 French French
1697 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
1789 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1841 Gijsbrecht Van Aemstel Joost van den Vondel 1637 Dutch Dutch
1886 Mourning Becomes Electra Eugene O'Neill 1931 American English
1945 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
1972 Krapp's Last Tape Samuel Beckett 1958 Irish English
1995 Lenz Georg Buchner 1836 German German
2049 The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol 1836 Russian Russian
2058 Antony And Cleopatra William Shakespeare 1606 British English
2060 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2098 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2117 Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2120 Woe From Wit Alexander Griboyedov 1825 Russian Russian
2123 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
2154 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2163 The Madras House Harley Granville Barker 1910 British English
2163 Trifles Susan Glaspell 1916 American English
2163 Desire Under The Elms Eugene O'Neill 1924 American English
2252 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
2272 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2303 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2321 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
2337 Scenes From The Past Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin 1869 Russian Russian
2341 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
2438 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
2465 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
2466 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2469 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
2521 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
2524 Endgame Samuel Beckett 1957 Irish French
2525 A View From The Bridge Arthur Miller 1955 American English
2528 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
2554 Top Girls Caryl Churchill 1982 British English
2562 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
2566 Look Back In Anger John Osborne 1956 British English
2664 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
2683 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
2700 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
3283 Juno And The Paycock Sean O'Casey 1924 Irish English
3006 Soldiers Rolf Hochhuth 1968 German German
3100 In The Solitude Of Cotton Fields Bernard-Marie Koltès 1986 French French
3114 Teahouse Lao She 1957 Chinese Chinese
3133 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
3152 Death And The King's Horsemen Wole Soyinka 1975 Nigerian English
3282 Heartbreak House George Bernard Shaw 1919 British English
3329 The Comedy Of Errors William Shakespeare 1594 British English
3390 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
3573 A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry 1959 American English
3574 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
3621 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
3671 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
3675 Lucifer Joost van den Vondel 1654 Dutch Dutch
3783 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
4015 The Iceman Cometh Eugene O'Neill 1946 American English
4074 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
4122 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
4154 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
4262 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
4299 Warenar P. C. Hooft 1617 Dutch Dutch
4414 Toys In The Attic Lillian Hellman 1960 American English
4428 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
4450 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
4650 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
4656 Fences August Wilson 1985 American English
4673 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English
4678 The Boys In The Band Matt Crowley 1968 American English
4763 Funnyhouse Of A Negro Adrienne Kennedy 1964 American English
5067 For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf Ntozake Shange 1975 American English
5164 Nathan the Wise Gotthold Ephraim Lessing 1779 German German
5175 Henry V William Shakespeare 1600 British English