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
4626 Blue Bird Maurice Maeterlinck 1908 Belgian French
4654 True West Sam Shepard 1980 American English
4658 Man And Superman George Bernard Shaw 1903 British English
4668 Saint Joan George Bernard Shaw 1923 Irish English
4786 Amphitryon Plautus -184 Roman Latin
4788 The Way Of The World William Congreve 1700 British English
4790 The Master Builder Henrik Ibsen 1892 Norwegian Norwegian
4796 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht 1943 German German
4806 The Dybbuk S. Ansky 1914 Russian Yiddish
4900 The Tragedy Of Mariam Elizabeth Cary 1613 British English
4987 The Norman Conquests Alan Ayckbourn 1973 British English
5275 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Tennessee Williams 1955 American English
5393 Complete Plays And Poems Christopher Marlowe 1587 British English
5531 Caesar Jan Werich, Jiří Voskovec 1932 Czech Czech
5531 Balada Z Hadrů Jan Werich, Jiří Voskovec 1935 Czech Czech
5531 Divadlo Járy Cimrmana Zdeněk Svěrák, Ladislav Smoljak, Jára Cimrman 1967 Czech Czech
5735 Anne Of The Thousand Days Maxwell Anderson 1950 American English
5815 The Malcontent John Marston 1604 British English
5816 Cyclops Euripides -405 Greek Ancient greek
5818 Helen Euripides -412 Greek Ancient greek
5834 Pseudolus Plautus -191 Roman Latin
5836 Six Tragedies Seneca 54 Roman Latin
5833 Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega 1619 Spanish Spanish
5843 The Girl From Samos Menander -342 Greek Ancient greek
5838 The Braggart Soldier Plautus -204 Roman Latin
5842 The Girl From Andros Terence -166 Roman Latin
5841 The Eunuch Terence -161 Multiple Latin
5849 The Rope Plautus -204 Roman Latin
5850 Venice Preserv'd Thomas Otway 1682 British English
5846 Andromache Jean Racine 1667 French French
5851 Love For Love William Congreve 1695 British English
5852 The Recruiting Officer George Farquhar 1706 Irish English
5854 Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw 1905 British English
5856 The Servant Of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni 1746 Italian Italian
5863 The School for Wives Molière 1662 French French
5863 The Last Days of Mankind Karl Kraus 1919 Austrian German
5863 The Changeling Thomas, William Rowley Middleton 1622 British English
5862 Mary Stuart Friedrich Schiller 1800 German German
5897 The Plough And The Stars Sean O'Casey 1926 Irish English
5902 The Beggar's Opera John Gay 1728 British English
5899 The Ghost Sonata August Strindberg 1907 Swedish Swedish
5904 The Country Wife William Wycherley 1675 British English
5908 The Ring Of The Nibelung Richard Wagner 1876 German German
5916 The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht 1944 German German
5989 Twelfth Night William Shakespeare 1602 British English
5990 The Homecoming Harold Pinter 1965 British English
6244 Volpone Ben Jonson 1607 British English
6380 Jumpers Tom Stoppard 1972 British English
6403 The Chairs Eugène Ionesco 1952 French French
6548 Heldenplatz Thomas Bernhard 1988 Austrian German
6558 Hernani Victor Hugo 1830 French French
6629 No Man's Land Harold Pinter 1975 British English
6637 Savannah Bay Marguerite Duras 1983 French French
6670 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
7191 The Complete Plays Of Eugene O'neill Eugene O'Neill 1959 American English
7216 The Mandrake Niccolo Machiavelli 1518 Italian Italian
7216 Saul Vittorio Alfieri 1782 Italian Italian
7216 La Dorotea Lope de Vega 1632 Spanish Spanish
7216 Lost In A Mirror Lope de Vega 1600 Spanish Unknown
7216 The Knight Of Olmedo Lope de Vega 1620 Spanish Spanish
7216 The Mayor Of Zalamea Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1636 Spanish Spanish
7216 The Mighty Magician Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1637 Spanish Spanish
7216 The Doctor Of His Own Honor Pedro Calderón de la Barca 1635 Spanish Spanish
7216 The Spanish Tragedy Thomas Kyd 1587 British English
7216 Poems, Plays, And Masques Ben Jonson 1601 British English
7216 Plays Francis Beaumont 1607 British English
7216 Comedies, Tragedies, Poems George Chapman 1600 British English
7216 'Tis Pity She's A Whore John Ford 1633 British English
7216 A New Way To Pay Old Debts Philip Massinger 1633 British English
7216 Samson Agonistes John Milton 1671 British English
7216 The Man Of Mode George Etherege 1676 British English
7216 The Beaux' Strategem George Farquhar 1707 British English
7216 The Plain Dealer William Wycherley 1676 British English
7216 Mark Antony Robert Garnier 1578 French French
7216 Juives Robert Garnier 1583 French French
7216 Polyeucte Pierre Corneille 1643 French French
7216 Nicomède Pierre Corneille 1651 French French
7216 Horace Pierre Corneille 1640 French French
7216 Cinna Pierre Corneille 1641 French French
7216 Rodogune Pierre Corneille 1644 French French
7216 The Learned Ladies Molière 1672 French French
7216 School For Husbands Molière 1661 French French
7216 The Precious Ridiculous Molière 1659 French French
7216 Britannicus Jean Racine 1669 French French
7216 Athaliah Jean Racine 1691 French French
7216 Egmont Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1788 German German
7216 Verse Plays Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1800 German German
7216 Wallenstein Friedrich Schiller 1799 German German
7216 Five Plays Heinrich von Kleist 1808 German German
7216 Emperor And Galilean Henrik Ibsen 1873 Norwegian Norwegian
7216 The Lady From The Sea Henrik Ibsen 1888 Norwegian Norwegian
7216 When We Dead Awaken Henrik Ibsen 1899 Norwegian Norwegian
7216 To Damascus August Strindberg 1898 Swedish Swedish
7216 The Dance Of Death August Strindberg 1900 Swedish Swedish
7216 Death's Jest Book Thomas Lovell Beddoes 1850 British English
7216 The Poems And Plays Of Thomas Wade Thomas Wade 1800 British English
7216 Complete Plays Of Gilbert And Sullivan W. S. Gilbert 1938 British English
7216 Plays Oscar Wilde 1900 Irish English
7216 Danton's Death Georg Buchner 1835 German German
7216 The Storm Aleksandr Ostrovsky 1860 Russian Russian
7216 Naked Masks Luigi Pirandello 1922 Italian Italian
7216 The Infernal Machine And Other Works Jean Cocteau 1934 French French
7216 Eurydice Jean Anouilh 1941 French French
7216 Major Critical Essays George Bernard Shaw 1930 Irish English
7216 Back To Methuselah George Bernard Shaw 1921 Irish English
7216 The Shadow Of A Gunman Sean O'Casey 1923 Irish English
7216 Poems And Verse Plays Hugo von Hofmannsthal 1900 Austrian German
7216 Plays And Stories Arthur Schnitzler 1929 Austrian German
7216 Lulu Plays Frank Wedekind 1895 German German
7216 R.U.R. Karel Čapek 1920 Czech Czech
7216 Lazarus Laughed Eugene O'Neill 1927 American English
7651 Angels In America Tony Kushner 1991 American English
7717 Three Tragedies Federico García Lorca 1947 Spanish Spanish
7717 Selected Writings Antonin Artaud 1947 French French