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
7770 Summer And Smoke Tennessee Williams 1948 American English
7860 The Rehearsal Jean Anouilh 1950 French French
7910 The Lesson Eugène Ionesco 1951 French French
8008 Victims Of Duty Eugène Ionesco 1953 French French
8075 Amédée Eugène Ionesco 1954 French French
8278 Three Plays Thornton Wilder 1957 American English
8322 American Buffalo David Mamet 1975 American English
8386 Becket Jean Anouilh 1959 French French
8458 Vestido De Noiva Nelson Rodrigues 1943 Brazilian Portuguese
8468 A Dance Of The Forest Wole Soyinka 1960 Nigerian English
8538 Plays Of John Arden John Arden 1961 British English
8671 Selected Plays And Libretti Hugo von Hofmannsthal 1963 Austrian German
8767 O Pagador De Promessas Dias Gomes 1962 Brazilian Portuguese
8831 The Flies Jean Paul Sartre 1943 French French
9005 Four Plays Jean Giraudoux 1967 French French
9242 The Complete Dramatic Works Of Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett 1986 Irish English
9289 Casualties John Pepper Clark 1970 Nigerian English
9511 Joe Turner's Come And Gone August Wilson 1984 American English
9713 The Boys In The Band Matt Crowley 1968 American English
9832 The Fool Edward Bond 1975 British English
9926 The Complete Plays Joe Orton 1976 British English
9926 Streamers David Rabe 1976 American English
10054 Collected Shorter Plays Samuel Beckett 1984 Irish English
10135 A Lesson From Aloes Athol Fugard 1978 South African English
10303 Brecht On Theatre Bertolt Brecht 1964 German German
10552 Seven Plays Sam Shepard 1981 American English
10597 The Taming of the Shrew William Shakespeare 1590 British English
10604 The Alchemist Ben Jonson 1610 British English
11045 The Complete Plays of T. S. Eliot T. S. Eliot 1969 British English
11243 The Island Of Slaves Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1725 French French
11247 Tiger At The Gates Jean Giraudoux 1935 French French
11387 Speed The Plow David Mamet 1988 American English
11534 Thyestes Seneca 62 Roman Latin
12399 The History Boys Alan Bennett 2004 British English
13359 An Enemy of the People Henrik Ibsen 1882 Norwegian Norwegian
13359 Critic Richard Brinsley Sheridan 1779 British English
13359 The First Folio Of Shakespeare William Shakespeare 1623 English Early modern english
13509 Machinal Sophie Treadwell 1928 American English
13599 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
14329 The Admirable Crichton J. M. Barrie 1902 British English
14410 Kaspar and Other Plays Peter Handke 1967 Austrian German
14410 Greek Tragedies 1 David Grene 1955 Unknown English
14484 The Servant In The House Charles Rann Kennedy 1908 British English
14519 The Coast Of Utopia Tom Stoppard 2002 British English
14629 Sexual Perversity in Chicago David Mamet 1974 American English
14696 The Brothers Menaechmus Plautus -184 Roman Latin
14757 The Dyskolos Menander -316 Greek Ancient greek
14763 Adelphoe Terence -160 Roman Latin
14778 The Peony Pavilion Tang Xianzu 1598 Chinese Chinese
14822 The Wild Duck Henrik Ibsen 1884 Norwegian Norwegian
14849 The Playboy Of The Western World John Millington Synge 1907 Irish English
14867 Henry Iv Luigi Pirandello 1922 Italian Italian
14879 Dulcitius Hrotsvitha 990 German Latin
14939 The Odd Couple Neil Simon 1965 American English
14929 Equus Peter Shaffer 1973 British English
14950 Crimes Of The Heart Beth Henley 1978 American English
14943 Picnic William Inge 1953 American English
14949 The Dutchman Amiri Baraka 1964 American English
14948 Blood Wedding Federico García Lorca 1933 Spanish Spanish
14983 Blasted Sarah Kane 1995 British English
14983 John Annie Baker 2015 American English
14983 August Tracy Letts 2008 American English
14983 The Heidi Chronicles Wendy Wasserstein 1989 American English
14983 Six Degrees Of Separation John Guare 1990 American English
14983 The Pillowman Martin McDonagh 2003 Irish English
14970 All That Fall Samuel Beckett 1957 Irish English
14983 The Real Thing Tom Stoppard 1982 British English
14983 The Weir Conor McPherson 1997 Irish English
14983 Cloud 9 Caryl Churchill 1979 British English
14983 Accidental Death Of An Anarchist Dario Fo 1970 Italian Italian
15586 The Season William Goldman 1969 American English
15705 Early Plays Eugene O'Neill 1932 American English
15721 Edward Ii Christopher Marlowe 1594 British English
15722 Love’s Labour’s Lost William Shakespeare 1598 British English
15733 A Mad World, My Masters Thomas Middleton 1605 British English
15740 The Three Theban Plays Sophocles -441 Greek Ancient greek
15746 The Children's Hour Lillian Hellman 1934 American English
15755 Punishment Without Revenge Lope de Vega 1631 Spanish Spanish
15764 The Illusion Pierre Corneille 1636 French French
15761 The Oedipus Plays Of Sophocles Sophocles -429 Greek Ancient greek
15798 All My Sons Arthur Miller 1947 American English
15828 The Game Of Love And Chance Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1730 French French
15840 La Triologia Della Villegiatura Carlo Goldoni 1761 Italian Italian
15897 Apu Ollontay Peru 1780 Peruvian Quechua
15897 The Works of George Peele George Peele 1593 British English
15897 Old Times Harold Pinter 1971 British English
15897 Sizwe Bansi Is Dead Athol Fugard 1972 South African English
15897 The Dispute Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux 1744 French French
15897 Happy Days Samuel Beckett 1961 French English
15894 The Dumb Waiter Harold Pinter 1957 British English
16497 The Zoo Story Edward Albee 1958 American English
16486 The Prince Of Homburg Heinrich von Kleist 1821 German German
16504 An Italian Straw Hat Eugène Labiche 1851 French French
16495 The Love Suicides At Sonezaki Chikamatsu Monzaemon 1703 Japanese Japanese
15897 The Female Wits Mary Pix, Catherine Trotter, Delariviere Manley 1696 British English
15897 Sacred Dramas Hannah More 1782 British English
15897 Doctor Faustus And Other Plays Christopher Marlowe 1604 English English
16489 William Shakespeare Complete Works William Shakespeare 1623 English English
16518 The Forest Alexander Ostrovsky 1871 Russian Russian
16592 Le Dindon Georges Feydeau 1896 French French
16555 Twelve Angry Men Reginald Rose 1954 American English
16678 Inherit The Wind Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee 1955 American English
16700 The Skin Of Our Teeth Thornton Wilder 1942 American English
16644 Waste Harley Granville Barker 1907 British English
16700 Exiles James Joyce 1918 Irish English
16649 Present Laughter Noel Coward 1942 British English
16659 An Ideal Husband Oscar Wilde 1895 British English