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
4624 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
4652 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
4656 Man And Superman George Bernard Shaw 1903 British English
4666 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
4784 Amphitryon Plautus -184 Roman Latin
4786 The Way Of The World William Congreve 1700 British English
4788 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
4794 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht 1943 German German
4804 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
4898 The Tragedy Of Mariam Elizabeth Cary 1613 British English
4983 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
5273 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams 1955 American English
5390 Complete Plays And Poems Christopher Marlowe 1587 British English
5529 Caesar Jan Werich, Jiří Voskovec 1932 Czech Czech
5529 Balada Z Hadrů Jan Werich, Jiří Voskovec 1935 Czech Czech
5529 Divadlo Járy Cimrmana Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Smoljak, Jára Cimrman 1967 Czech Czech
5732 Anne Of The Thousand Days Maxwell Anderson 1950 American English
5812 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
5813 Cyclops Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
5817 Helen Euripides -412 Greek Ancient greek
5831 Pseudolus Plautus -191 Roman Latin
5833 Six Tragedies Seneca 54 Roman Latin
5828 Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega 1619 Spanish Spanish
5840 The Girl From Samos Menander -342 Greek Ancient greek
5834 The Braggart Soldier Plautus -204 Roman Latin
5839 The Girl From Andros Terence -166 Roman Latin
5837 The Eunuch Terence -161 Multiple Latin
5846 The Rope Plautus -204 Roman Latin
5847 Venice Preserv'd Thomas Otway 1682 British English
5843 Andromache Jean Racine 1667 French French
5848 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
5849 The Recruiting Officer George Farquhar 1706 Irish English
5850 Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw 1905 British English
5853 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
5860 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
5860 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
5860 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
5859 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
5894 The Plough And The Stars Sean O'Casey 1926 Irish English
5899 The Beggar's Opera John Gay 1728 British English
5896 The Ghost Sonata August Strindberg 1907 Swedish Swedish
5901 The Country Wife William Wycherley 1675 British English
5905 The Ring Of The Nibelung Richard Wagner 1876 German German
5914 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
5985 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
5986 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
6240 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
6377 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
6400 The Chairs Eugène Ionesco 1952 French French
6546 Heldenplatz Thomas Bernhard 1988 Austrian German
6556 Hernani Victor Hugo 1830 French French
6627 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
6635 Savannah Bay Marguerite Duras 1983 French French
6669 The Balcony Jean Genet 1957 French French
6834 The Dynasts Thomas Hardy 1904 British English
6865 Loupežník Karel Čapek 1988 Czech Czech
6927 Travesties Tom Stoppard 1974 British English
6996 Le Théâtre Des Paroles Valère Novarina 1989 French French
7004 The Collected Plays Of Noel Coward Noel Coward 1979 British English
7161 Saved Edward Bond 1965 British English
7190 The Complete Plays Of Eugene O'neill Eugene O'Neill 1959 American English
7215 The Mandrake Niccolo Machiavelli 1518 Italian Italian
7215 Saul Vittorio Alfieri 1782 Italian Italian
7215 La Dorotea Lope de Vega 1632 Spanish Spanish
7215 Lost In A Mirror Lope de Vega 1600 Spanish Unknown
7215 The Knight Of Olmedo Lope de Vega 1620 Spanish Spanish
7215 The Mayor Of Zalamea Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1636 Spanish Spanish
7215 The Mighty Magician Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1637 Spanish Spanish
7215 The Doctor Of His Own Honor Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
7215 The Spanish Tragedy Thomas Kyd 1587 British English
7215 Poems, Plays, And Masques Ben Jonson 1601 British English
7215 Plays Francis Beaumont 1607 British English
7215 Comedies, Tragedies, Poems George Chapman 1600 British English
7215 'Tis Pity She's A Whore John Ford 1633 British English
7215 A New Way To Pay Old Debts Philip Massinger 1633 British English
7215 Samson Agonistes John Milton 1671 British English
7215 The Man Of Mode George Etherege 1676 British English
7215 The Beaux' Strategem George Farquhar 1707 British English
7215 The Plain Dealer William Wycherley 1676 British English
7215 Mark Antony Robert Garnier 1578 French French
7215 Juives Robert Garnier 1583 French French
7215 Polyeucte Pierre Corneille 1643 French French
7215 Nicomède Pierre Corneille 1651 French French
7215 Horace Pierre Corneille 1640 French French
7215 Cinna Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
7215 Rodogune Pierre Corneille 1644 French French
7215 The Learned Ladies Molière 1672 French French
7215 School For Husbands Molière 1661 French French
7215 The Precious Ridiculous Molière 1659 French French
7215 Britannicus Jean Racine 1669 French French
7215 Athaliah Jean Racine 1691 French French
7215 Egmont Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1788 German German
7215 Verse Plays Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1800 German German
7215 Wallenstein Friedrich Schiller 1799 German German
7215 Five Plays Heinrich von Kleist 1808 German German
7215 Emperor And Galilean Henrik Ibsen 1873 Norwegian Norwegian
7215 The Lady From The Sea Henrik Ibsen 1888 Norwegian Norwegian
7215 When We Dead Awaken Henrik Ibsen 1899 Norwegian Norwegian
7215 To Damascus August Strindberg 1898 Swedish Swedish
7215 The Dance Of Death August Strindberg 1900 Swedish Swedish
7215 Death's Jest Book Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1850 British English
7215 The Poems And Plays Of Thomas Wade Thomas Wade 1800 British English
7215 Complete Plays Of Gilbert And Sullivan W. S. Gilbert 1938 British English
7215 Plays Oscar Wilde 1900 Irish English
7215 Danton's Death Georg Buchner 1835 German German
7215 The Storm Aleksandr Ostrovsky 1860 Russian Russian
7215 Naked Masks Luigi Pirandello 1922 Italian Italian
7215 The Infernal Machine And Other Works Jean Cocteau 1934 French French
7215 Eurydice Jean Anouilh 1941 French French
7215 Major Critical Essays George Bernard Shaw 1930 Irish English
7215 Back To Methuselah George Bernard Shaw 1921 Irish English
7215 The Shadow Of A Gunman Sean O'Casey 1923 Irish English
7215 Poems And Verse Plays Hugo von Hofmannsthal 1900 Austrian German
7215 Plays And Stories Arthur Schnitzler 1929 Austrian German
7215 Lulu Plays Frank Wedekind 1895 German German
7215 R.U.R. Karel Čapek 1920 Czech Czech
7215 Lazarus Laughed Eugene O'Neill 1927 American English
7650 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
7715 Three Tragedies Federico García Lorca 1947 Spanish Spanish
7715 Selected Writings Antonin Artaud 1947 French French