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 465 '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
62 Hamlet William Shakespeare 1600 British English
75 Oedipus the King Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
87 Faust Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1808 German German
114 Waiting for Godot Samuel Beckett 1953 Irish French
119 Antigone Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
126 King Lear William Shakespeare 1608 British English
138 First Folio William Shakespeare 1623 British English
143 Macbeth William Shakespeare 1606 British English
210 The Tempest William Shakespeare 1623 British English
245 Medea Euripides -431 Greek Ancient greek
290 Oresteia Aeschylus -458 Greek Ancient greek
308 La Celestina Fernando de Rojas 1499 Spanish Spanish
418 Oedipus at Colonus Sophocles -401 Greek Ancient greek
428 A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen 1879 Norwegian Norwegian
453 Richard III William Shakespeare 1592 British English
570 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov 1904 Russian Russian
610 Three Sisters Anton Chekhov 1901 Russian Russian
636 Electra Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
661 Life Is a Dream Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
664 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare 1597 British English
666 The Bacchae Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
738 Uncle Vanya Anton Chekhov 1897 Russian Russian
787 Women of Trachis Sophocles -450 Greek Ancient greek
789 Ajax Sophocles -440 Greek Ancient greek
788 Philoctetes Sophocles -409 Greek Ancient greek
830 A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 1947 American English
849 Othello William Shakespeare 1603 British English
902 Death Of A Salesman Arthur Miller 1949 American English
909 Lysistrata Aristophanes -411 Greek Ancient greek
921 Prometheus Bound Aeschylus -455 Greek Ancient greek
927 Long Day's Journey Into Night Eugene O'Neill 1956 American English
961 Cyrano de Bergerac Edmond Rostand 1897 French French
984 Six Characters in Search of an Author Luigi Pirandello 1921 Italian Italian
1024 The Persians Aeschylus -471 Greek Ancient greek
1149 The Clouds Aristophanes -423 Greek Ancient greek
1158 Tartuffe Molière 1664 French French
1181 The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde 1895 Irish English
1210 The Birds Aristophanes -414 Greek Ancient greek
1236 The Suppliants Aeschylus -463 Greek Ancient greek
1236 Seven Against Thebes Aeschylus -467 Greek Ancient greek
1273 Mother Courage and Her Children Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
1344 The Recognition of Sakuntala Kālidāsa -400 Indian Sanskrit
1345 Pygmalion George Bernard Shaw 1913 British English
1390 Antigone Jean Anouilh 1944 French French
1394 No Exit Jean Paul Sartre 1944 French French
1459 The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus Christopher Marlowe 1604 British English
1532 The Works of Moliere Molière 1666 French French
1602 Bohemian Lights Ramón del Valle-Inclán 1920 Spanish Spanish
1619 Rameau's Nephew Denis Diderot 1761 French French
1660 The White Devil John Webster 1612 British English
1747 Le Mariage De Figaro Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais 1784 French French
1749 The Seagull Anton Chekhov 1896 Russian Russian
1797 Gijsbrecht Van Aemstel Joost van den Vondel 1637 Dutch Dutch
1848 Mourning Becomes Electra Eugene O'Neill 1931 American English
1903 Trojan Women Euripides -415 Greek Ancient greek
1923 Krapp's Last Tape Samuel Beckett 1958 Irish English
1951 Lenz Georg Buchner 1836 German German
2002 The Government Inspector Nikolai Gogol 1836 Russian Russian
2003 Antony And Cleopatra William Shakespeare 1606 British English
2013 The Complete Plays of Jean Racine Jean Racine 1677 French French
2054 Plays Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
2073 Boris Godunov Alexander Pushkin 1831 Russian Russian
2076 Woe From Wit Alexander Griboyedov 1825 Russian Russian
2077 Murder In The Cathedral T. S. Eliot 1935 British English
2109 Waiting For Lefty Clifford Odets 1935 American English
2190 The Madras House Harley Granville Barker 1910 British English
2190 Trifles Susan Glaspell 1916 American English
2190 Desire Under The Elms Eugene O'Neill 1924 American English
2211 The Little Tragedies Alexander Pushkin 1832 Russian Russian
2230 The Lower Depths Maxim Gorky 1902 Russian Russian
2256 The Complete Writings of Alfred de Musset Alfred de Musset 1907 French French
2278 The Lady's Not For Burning Christopher Fry 1948 British English
2285 Scenes From The Past Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin 1869 Russian Russian
2293 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Bertolt Brecht 1941 German German
2377 A Midsummer Night's Dream William Shakespeare 1595 British English
2410 As You Like it William Shakespeare 1600 British English
2417 The Blood Knot Athol Fugard 1961 South African English
2420 Arcadia Tom Stoppard 1993 British English
2466 Hippolytus Euripides -428 Greek Ancient greek
2472 Endgame Samuel Beckett 1957 Irish French
2473 A View From The Bridge Arthur Miller 1955 American English
2479 Five Plays Goran Stefanovski 1982 Macedonian Macedonian
2501 Top Girls Caryl Churchill 1982 British English
2509 Three plays Paul Claudel 1912 French French
2518 Look Back In Anger John Osborne 1956 British English
2625 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Tom Stoppard 1966 British English
2647 Phèdre Jean Racine 1677 French French
2666 Selected Plays of George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw 1976 Irish English
2953 Soldiers Rolf Hochhuth 1968 German German
3059 Teahouse Lao She 1957 Chinese Chinese
3071 Our Town Thornton Wilder 1938 American English
3089 Death And The King's Horsemen Wole Soyinka 1975 Nigerian English
3159 The Revenger's Tragedy Thomas Middleton 1606 British English
3211 Heartbreak House George Bernard Shaw 1919 British English
3212 Juno And The Paycock Sean O'Casey 1924 Irish English
3251 The Comedy Of Errors William Shakespeare 1594 British English
3326 The Misanthrope Molière 1666 French French
3358 In The Solitude Of Cotton Fields Bernard-Marie Koltès 1986 French French
3505 A Raisin In The Sun Lorraine Hansberry 1959 American English
3506 The Satin Slipper Paul Claudel 1929 French French
3552 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
3595 Selected Plays of Henrick Ibsen Henrik Ibsen 1900 Norwegian Norwegian
3607 Lucifer Joost van den Vondel 1654 Dutch Dutch
3718 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
3934 The Iceman Cometh Eugene O'Neill 1946 American English
3990 Alcestis Euripides -438 Greek Ancient greek
4042 Much Ado about Nothing William Shakespeare 1600 British English
4050 The Collected Plays Of Noel Coward Noel Coward 1979 British English
4069 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
4180 Rhinoceros and Other Plays Eugène Ionesco 1959 Romanian French
4194 The Good Hope Herman Heijermans 1901 Dutch Dutch
4216 Granida P. C. Hooft 1605 Dutch Dutch
4216 Warenar P. C. Hooft 1617 Dutch Dutch
4216 Palamedes Joost van den Vondel 1625 Dutch Dutch
4321 Toys In The Attic Lillian Hellman 1960 American English
4341 The Bald Soprano Eugène Ionesco 1950 French French
4348 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
4524 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
4546 Fences August Wilson 1985 American English
4567 The Collected Plays of W.B. Yeats William Butler Yeats 1934 Irish English