The Greatest 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 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.

View: List Grid Table
Filter by: Genres Dates Countries

Rank Book Authors Year Country Language Actions
7772 Summer And Smoke Tennessee Williams 1948 American English
7861 The Rehearsal Jean Anouilh 1950 French French
7911 The Lesson Eugène Ionesco 1951 French French
8009 Victims Of Duty Eugène Ionesco 1953 French French
8076 Amédée Eugène Ionesco 1954 French French
8280 Three Plays Thornton Wilder 1957 American English
8324 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
8389 Becket Jean Anouilh 1959 French French
8463 Vestido De Noiva Nelson Rodrigues 1943 Brazilian Portuguese
8473 A Dance Of The Forest Wole Soyinka 1960 Nigerian English
8542 Plays Of John Arden John Arden 1961 British English
8675 Selected Plays And Libretti Hugo von Hofmannsthal 1963 Austrian German
8772 O Pagador De Promessas Dias Gomes 1962 Brazilian Portuguese
8835 The Flies Jean Paul Sartre 1943 French French
9009 Four Plays Jean Giraudoux 1967 French French
9246 The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett 1986 Irish English
9294 Casualties John Pepper Clark 1970 Nigerian English
9516 Joe Turner's Come And Gone August Wilson 1984 American English
9717 The Boys In The Band Matt Crowley 1968 American English
9836 The Fool Edward Bond 1975 British English
9931 The Complete Plays Joe Orton 1976 British English
9931 Streamers David Rabe 1976 American English
10060 Collected Shorter Plays Samuel Beckett 1984 Irish English
10140 A Lesson From Aloes Athol Fugard 1978 South African English
10309 Brecht On Theatre Bertolt Brecht 1964 German German
10559 Seven Plays Sam Shepard 1981 American English
10604 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
10611 The Alchemist Ben Jonson 1610 British English
11052 The Complete Plays of T. S. Eliot T. S. Eliot 1969 British English
11250 The Island Of Slaves Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1725 French French
11254 Tiger At The Gates Jean Giraudoux 1935 French French
11393 Speed The Plow David Mamet 1988 American English
11537 Thyestes Seneca 62 Roman Latin
12401 The History Boys Alan Bennett 2004 British English
13362 An Enemy of the People Henrik Ibsen 1882 Norwegian Norwegian
13362 Critic Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1779 British English
13362 The First Folio Of Shakespeare William Shakespeare 1623 English Early modern english
13511 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
13600 Brecht's Lover Jacques-Pierre Amette 2003 French French
13938 Marat Sade Peter Weiss 1963 German German
13941 Master Harold...And The Boys Athol Fugard 1982 South African English
14154 The Vortex Noel Coward 1924 British English
14191 Private Lives Noel Coward 1930 British English
14205 The Women Clare Booth Luce 1936 American English
14209 Awake And Sing! Clifford Odets 1935 American English
14232 Jerusalem Jez Butterworth 2009 British English
14232 Copenhagen Michael Frayn 1998 British English
14232 Glengarry Glen Ross David Mamet 1984 American English
14232 Fool For Love Sam Shepard 1983 American English
14232 Noises Off Michael Frayn 1982 British English
14232 Doubt John Patrick Shanley 2004 American English
14232 M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang 1988 American English
14330 The Admirable Crichton J. M. Barrie 1902 British English
14411 Kaspar and Other Plays Peter Handke 1967 Austrian German
14411 Greek Tragedies 1 David Grene 1955 Unknown English
14485 The Servant In The House Charles Rann Kennedy 1908 British English
14520 The Coast Of Utopia Tom Stoppard 2002 British English
14630 Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet 1974 American English
14697 The Brothers Menaechmus Plautus -184 Roman Latin
14759 The Dyskolos Menander -316 Greek Ancient greek
14765 Adelphoe Terence -160 Roman Latin
14780 The Peony Pavilion Tang Xianzu 1598 Chinese Chinese
14823 The Wild Duck Henrik Ibsen 1884 Norwegian Norwegian
14851 The Playboy Of The Western World John Millington Synge 1907 Irish English
14870 Henry Iv Luigi Pirandello 1922 Italian Italian
14882 Dulcitius Hrotsvitha 990 German Latin
14942 The Odd Couple Neil Simon 1965 American English
14931 Equus Peter Shaffer 1973 British English
14953 Crimes Of The Heart Beth Henley 1978 American English
14946 Picnic William Inge 1953 American English
14952 The Dutchman Amiri Baraka 1964 American English
14951 Blood Wedding Federico García Lorca 1933 Spanish Spanish
14985 Blasted Sarah Kane 1995 British English
14985 John Annie Baker 2015 American English
14985 August Tracy Letts 2008 American English
14985 The Heidi Chronicles Wendy Wasserstein 1989 American English
14985 Six Degrees Of Separation John Guare 1990 American English
14985 The Pillowman Martin McDonagh 2003 Irish English
14972 All That Fall Samuel Beckett 1957 Irish English
14985 The Real Thing Tom Stoppard 1982 British English
14985 The Weir Conor McPherson 1997 Irish English
14985 Cloud 9 Caryl Churchill 1979 British English
14985 Accidental Death Of An Anarchist Dario Fo 1970 Italian Italian
15594 The Season William Goldman 1969 American English
15713 Early Plays Eugene O'Neill 1932 American English
15729 Edward Ii Christopher Marlowe 1594 British English
15730 Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare 1598 British English
15742 A Mad World, My Masters Thomas Middleton 1605 British English
15748 The Three Theban Plays Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
15755 The Children's Hour Lillian Hellman 1934 American English
15767 Punishment Without Revenge Lope de Vega 1631 Spanish Spanish
15782 The Illusion Pierre Corneille 1636 French French
15774 The Oedipus Plays Of Sophocles Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
15818 All My Sons Arthur Miller 1947 American English
15842 The Game Of Love And Chance Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1730 French French
15854 La Triologia Della Villegiatura Carlo Goldoni 1761 Italian Italian
15916 Apu Ollontay Peru 1780 Peruvian Quechua
15916 The Works of George Peele George Peele 1593 British English
15916 Old Times Harold Pinter 1971 British English
15916 Sizwe Bansi Is Dead Athol Fugard 1972 South African English
15916 The Dispute Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1744 French French
15916 Happy Days Samuel Beckett 1961 French English
15914 The Dumb Waiter Harold Pinter 1957 British English
16517 The Zoo Story Edward Albee 1958 American English
16506 The Prince Of Homburg Heinrich von Kleist 1821 German German
16526 An Italian Straw Hat Eugène Labiche 1851 French French
16515 The Love Suicides At Sonezaki Chikamatsu Monzaemon 1703 Japanese Japanese
15916 The Female Wits Mary Pix, Catherine Trotter, Delariviere Manley 1696 British English
15916 Sacred Dramas Hannah More 1782 British English
15916 Doctor Faustus And Other Plays Christopher Marlowe 1604 English English
16504 William Shakespeare Complete Works William Shakespeare 1623 English English
16542 The Forest Alexander Ostrovsky 1871 Russian Russian
16625 Le Dindon Georges Feydeau 1896 French French
16597 An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde 1895 British English
16601 The Complete Works Of Shakespeare William Shakespeare 1623 British English
16578 Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose 1954 American English
16609 The Oxford Complete Shakespeare, 2nd Edition Oxford University Press 1623 British English
16717 Inherit The Wind Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee 1955 American English
16739 The Skin Of Our Teeth Thornton Wilder 1942 American English
16683 Waste Harley Granville Barker 1907 British English