This selection of 222 plays is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time list and further research into dramas acclaimed by the world's readers, theatree-goers, writers, critics and scholars.
Are plays even literature? Most have been created to be watched, enjoyed as stage productions, rather than to be read. But most have also been published in books like other forms of literature and are studied as literature.
See also:
The Greatest Novels
The Greatest Stories
The Greatest Plays covers dramas of all genres, cultures and periods—from ancient times to recent years.
The list is continually updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the current revision date when citing the list.
Latest update: February 10, 2025
BCE
472
The Persians
by Aeschylus, Greece
Play
458 BCE
Oresteia
by Aeschylus, Greece
Play trilogy includes Agamemnon, The Eumenides, and The Libation Bearers.
Separately the plays in Aeschylus's house of Atreus trilogy are skimpy. Or they may seem so to the modern reader or theatre-goer. In each instalment the narrative turns on a single great dramatic incident. In Agamemnon.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
c.450–425
Prometheus Bound
by Aeschylus, Greece
Play
442–441
Ajax
by Sophocles, Greece
Play
Antigone
by Sophocles, Greece
Play
It's the concluding instalment of Sophocles's so-called Theban trilogy about the tragedy of Oedipus and its ramifications. But Antigone was actually the first written and produced—more than a decade before the supposed.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
431
Medea
by Euripides, Greece
Play
429
Oedipus Rex
by Sophocles, Greece
Play, also known as Oedipus, Oedipus Tyrannus, or Oedipus the King
For a modern reader, the ancient drama of Oedipus Rex can be startlingly accessible. There is little of the struggle through the language that one experiences with even more recent plays, such as Shakespeare's.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
428
Hippolytus
by Euripides, Greece
Play
c.428
Andromache
by Euripides, Greece
Play
423
The Clouds
by Aristophanes, Greece
Play
422
The Wasps
by Aristophanes, Greece
Play
c.420–410
Electra
by Sophocles, Greece
Play
418
Electra
by Euripides, Greece
Play
415
The Trojan Women
by Euripides, Greece
Play
414
The Birds
by Aristophanes, Greece
Play
412
Helen
by Euripides, Greece
Play
411
Lysistrata
by Aristophanes, Greece
Play
405
The Frogs
by Aristophanes, Greece
Play
406
The Bacchae
by Euripides, Greece
Play
401
Oedipus at Colonus
by Sophocles, Greece
Play
c.200
The Twin Brothers
by Plautus, Rome
Play, also known as The Brothers Menaechmus
Miles Gloriosus
by Plautus, Rome
Play, also known as The Braggart Soldier
166
Andria
by Terence, Rome
Play, also known as The Girl from Andros
161
Eunuchus
by Terence, Rome
Play
CE
c.300
The Vision of Vasavadatta
by Bhāsa, India
Play, originally Swapnavasavadatta
c.400
The Recognition of Sakuntala
by Kalidasa, India
Play
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c.1300
The Chalk Circle
by Li Qianfu, China
Play
c.1400
Atsumori
by Zeami Motokiyo, Japan
Play
c.1500
The Feather Mantle
Anonymous, Japan
Play
1584
Sapho and Phao
by John Lyly, England
Play
Campaspe
by John Lyly, England
Play
1586
The Spanish Tragedy
by Thomas Kyd, England
Play
1587
Tamburlaine the Great
by Christopher Marlowe, England
Play
c.1591
The Battle of Alcazar
by George Peele, England
Play
The Taming of the Shrew
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
1592
Edward II
by Christopher Marlowe, England
Play
It can be difficult to read Edward II today as a Christopher Marlow play. One keeps sliding into thinking of it as minor Shakespeare—you know, all those early plays with kings and numerals in their titles. Partly this is a matter of.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
c.1592
Richard III
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
1594
Doctor Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe, England
Play, also known as The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus
A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
c.1595
Richard II
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
c.1596
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Possibly Shakespeare's best-known play. Everyone knows the story of star-crossed lovers who defied their families—the feuding Capulets and Montagues—and ended their lives tragically. Romeo and Juliet is a play with.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1597
Love's Labour's Lost
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
c.1597
Henry IV, Part 1
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
I once read all Shakespeare's historical plays in chronological order. Not in the order he wrote them, but in the order of the historical events they supposedly relate. Like many before me, I discovered that (1) the historical.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
Henry IV, Part 2
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
The major issue of contention whenever The Merchant of Venice comes up, of course, is the portrayal of Shylock, the Jewish money-lender, the villain of the piece for the most part. So let's deal with that first. On the side of.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1598
The Peony Pavilion
by Tang Xianzu, China
Play
1598–1599
Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
1599
As You Like It
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Henry V
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Julius Caesar
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
This play ought to be called Brutus, since the central theme concerns that character's decision to join an assassination conspiracy and the repercussions of his action. The titular figure, Julius Caesar, is dispensed with by the.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1601
Hamlet
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Hamlet is such a famous play—so much the great drama, the one that everyone in the world can quote at least six words from—that we usually can't see how strange it is that this should be so. Look at the.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1601–1602
Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
1604
Measure for Measure
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Othello
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Interesting thing about Othello is that it concerns a man of African heritage who is victimized in a white European society, and yet racism is never the central issue. Othello, the "Moor of Venice", is done in by Iago's.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1606
Volpone
by Ben Jonson, England
Play
c.1606
King Lear
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
A straightforward play really, about a dysfunctional family. People thinks it's cosmic because of that annoying storm in the middle. That's not my opinion but the summary of Jonathan Miller, given in a television interview.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
Macbeth was actually king of Scotland for seventeen years, though you would never get this from one of Shakespeare's most popular plays. Historians consider Macbeth and his wife to have been relatively good and.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
c.1608
Coriolanus
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
1610
The Alchemist
by Ben Jonson, England
Play
1611
The Winter's Tale
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare, England
Play
A favourite play. Not exactly sure why. It doesn't present many of the elements generally admired in drama. No great tragedy. Not much scintillating wit. Little realism. A fantastic plot and several fantasy characters, which.... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
1613
Henry VIII
by William Shakespeare, John Fletcher, England
Play
The Duchess of Malfi
by John Webster, England
Play
1619
Lost in a Mirror
by Lope de Vega, Spain
Play
1622
The Changeling
by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, England
Play
1631
Punishment Without Revenge
by Lope de Vega, Spain
Play
1633
'Tis Pity She's a Whore
by John Ford, England
Play
Perhaps the most shocking thing about 'Tis Pity She's a Whore is that it still shocks. John Ford's plays were written in a period of increasingly scandalous theatre. After Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1635
Life Is a Dream
by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spain
Play
1636
Le Cid
by Pierre Corneille, France
Play
1643
The Mayor of Zalamea
by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spain
Play
1662
The School for Wives
by Molière, France
Play, originally L'école des femmes
1664
Tartuffe
by Molière, France
Play
It is hard to understand exactly why Tartuffe was once attacked by religious authorities. Molière's target is the title character who presents a pious outer appearance to hide his scheming for material gain. Shouldn't.... Critique • Quotes • Translations • Buy
1666
The Misanthrope
by Molière, France
Play, also known as The Misanthrope, or the Cantankerous Lover, originally Le Misanthrope ou l'Atrabilaire amoureux
The Misanthrope reads at first like one of those overheated old Russian novels in which everyone talks and talks, all very excitedly, while the action happens elsewhere. It's certainly Molière's most reflective play.... Critique • Quotes • Translations • Buy
1667
Andromaque
by Jean Racine, France
Play
1668
The Miser
by Molière, France
Play
1670
Bérénice
by Jean Racine, France
Play
The Bourgeois Gentleman
by Molière, France
Play also known as The Would-Be Gentleman, The Middle-Class Gentleman, The Tradesman or The Shopkeeper Turned Gentleman, originally Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
There's so much to enjoy here, it's surprising this is not Molière's most popular play. After its initial run of twenty performances, it was hardly performed for several centuries until revived in the mid-1900s. And even now... Critique • Quotes • Text • Buy
1673
The Imaginary Invalid
by Molière, France
Play
1675
The Country Wife
by William Wycherley, England
Play
Your first go at The Country Wife may leave you mystified. Especially mixed up over all the criss-crossing plots involving characters who can scarcely be told apart. They're all randy, witticism-spouting, wealthy layabouts.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1677
The Rover
by Aphra Behn, England
Play
All for Love
by John Dryden, England
Play
John Dryden's tragedy, All for Love, is basically a retooling of William Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. You won't find Shakespeare's Cleopatra drama on the list of greatest plays, as it's not one of the Bard's.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
Phèdre
by Jean Racine, France
Play
1691
Athalie
by Jean Racine, France
Play
1700
The Way of the World
by William Congreve, England
Play
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1721
The Love Suicides at Amijima
by Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japan
Play
1728
The Beggar's Opera
by John Gay, England
Play
1730
The Game of Love and Chance
by Marivaux, France
Play
1753
The Mistress of the Inn
by Carlo Goldoni, Italy
Play
1767
Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness
by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Germany
Play
1773
She Stoops to Conquer
by Oliver Goldsmith, England
Play
Two things keep me from dismissing the drama She Stoops to Conquer as severely overrated. One: I don't recall seeing it performed. Live on stage it may be hilarious for all I know. And two: if it's overrated, it's been long.... Critique • Quotes • Buy
1775
The Rivals
by Richard Sheridan, England
Play
1777
The School for Scandal
by Richard Sheridan, England
Play
1779
Nathan the Wise
by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Germany
Play
1784
The Marriage of Figaro
by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, France
Play
1785
The Task
by William Cowper, England
Play
1787
Don Carlos
by Friedrich Schiller, Germany
Play
1798
Speed the Plough
by Thomas Morton, England
Play
1800
Mary Stuart
by Friedrich Schiller, Germany
Play
1808–1832
Faust
by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany
Play
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1821
The Prince of Homburg
by Heinrich von Kleist, Germany
Play, also known as Prince Friedrich of Homburg
1825
Woe from Wit
by Alexander Griboyedov, Russia
Play
1831
Queen Margot
by Alexandre Dumas, France
Play
Boris Godunov
by Alexander Pushkin, Russia
Poem
1835
Chatterton
by Alfred de Vigny, France
Play
1836
The Government Inspector
by Nicolai Gogol, Ukraine
Play, also known as The Inspector General
1852
The Lady of the Camellias
by Alexandre Dumas, fils, France
Novel, also known as Camille
1860
The Storm
by Alexander Ostrovsky, Russia
Play
1867
Peer Gynt
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1879
Woyzeck
by Georg Büchner, Germany
Play
A Doll's House
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1882
An Enemy of the People
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1884
The Wild Duck
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1887
The Father
by August Strindberg, Sweden
Play
1889
Miss Julie
by August Strindberg, Sweden
Play
1891
Hedda Gabler
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1892
Lady Windermere's Fan
by Oscar Wilde, Ireland
Play
1893
The Master Builder
by Henrik Ibsen, Norway
Play
1894
Arms and the Man
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
1895
An Ideal Husband
by Oscar Wilde, Ireland
Play
The Importance of Being Earnest
by Oscar Wilde, Ireland
Play
1896
The Seagull
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
1898
Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand, France
Play
Candida
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
1900
Uncle Vanya
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
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1901
Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play
1902
The Lower Depths
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Play
The Power of Darkness
by Leo Tolstoy, Russia
Play
1903
The Cherry Orchard
by Anton Chekhov, Russia
Play, originally Vishniovy sad
Man and Superman
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
1904
Riders to the Sea
by John Millington Synge, Ireland
Play
Peter Pan
by J.M. Barrie, Scotland
Play
1905
Major Barbara
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
Summerfolk
by Maxim Gorky, Russia
Play
1906
Spring Awakening
by Frank Wedekind, Germany
Play
1907
The Playboy of the Western World
by John Millington Synge, Ireland
Play
1916
Pygmalion
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
1920
R.U.R.
by Karel Čapek, Czechia
Play
Bohemian Nights
by Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Spain
Play
1921
Six Characters in Search of an Author
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Play, originally Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore
1922
Henry IV
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Play
1923
Saint Joan
by George Bernard Shaw, Ireland
Play
1924
The Vortex
by Noel Coward, England
Play
Juno and the Paycock
by Sean O'Casey, Ireland
Play
1926
The Plough and the Stars
by Sean O'Casey, Ireland
Play
1927
Sunset
by Isaac Babel, Russia
Novel
1928
The Three-Penny Opera
by Bertolt Brecht, Germany
Play
Machinal
by Sophie Treadwell, United States
Play
1930
Private Lives
by Noel Coward, England
Play
1931
Mourning Becomes Electra
by Eugene O'Neill, United States
Play
1933
Blood Wedding
by Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain
Play
1934
The Children's Hour
by Lillian Hellman, United States
Play
1935
Awake and Sing!
by Clifford Odets, United States
Play
1938
Our Town
by Thornton Wilder, United States
Play
On the early covers of Thornton Wilder's play, Our Town, a small community is shown perched on the side of a lofty hill or mountain, giving the illustration a kind of aspirational feeling. What isn't immediately clear.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
1939
The Little Foxes
by Lillian Hellman, United States
Play
What may be most surprising about Lillian Hellman's play The Little Foxes is it's such an absorbing piece of drama despite being about a business deal. The Hubbard siblings—brothers Oscar and Ben and sister Regina.... Critique • Quotes • At the movies • Buy
Arsenic and Old Lace
by Joseph Kesselring, United States
Play
1941
Blithe Spirit
by Noel Coward, England
Play
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
by Bertolt Brecht, Germany
Play
1943
The Life of Galileo
by Bertolt Brecht, Germany
Play
1944
No Exit
by Jean-Paul Sartre, France
Play
1945
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
by Bertolt Brecht, Germany
Play, originally Der kaukasische Kreidekreis
The Glass Menagerie
by Tennessee Williams, United States
Play
1946
The Iceman Cometh
by Eugene O'Neill, United States
Play
1947
A Streetcar Named Desire
by Tennessee Williams, United States
Play
1949
Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller, United States
Play
1950
The Bald Soprano
by Eugene Ionesco, France
Play, originally La Cantatrice Chauve
1952
The Mousetrap
by Agatha Christie, England
Play
The Deep Blue Sea
by Terence Rattigan, Engl;and
Play
The Chairs
by Eugene Ionesco, France
Play
Waiting for Godot
by Samuel Beckett, Ireland
Play
1954
Twelve Angry Men
by Reginald Rose, United States
Play
1956
Look Back in Anger
by John Osborne, England
Play
The Visit
by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Switzer.
Play
Long Day's Journey into Night
by Eugene O'Neill, United States
Play
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
by Tennessee Williams, United States
Play
1957
The Entertainer
by John Osborne, England
Play
The Birthday Party
by Harold Pinter, England
Play
Endgame
by Samuel Beckett, Ireland
Play
1958
The Caretaker
by Harold Pinter, England
Play
The Zoo Story
by Edward Albee, United States
Play
1959
Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
by John Arden, England
Play
A Raisin in the Sun
by Lorraine Hansberry, United States
Play
1960
A Man for All Seasons
by Robert Bolt, England
Play
1962
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
by Edward Albee, United States
Play
1963
The Garden Party
by Vaclav Havel, Czech.
Play, originally Zahradní slavnost
The Crucible
by Arthur Miller, United States
Play
1965
The Homecoming
by Harold Pinter, England
Play
1966
The Fate of a Cockroach
by Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Egypt
Play
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
by Tom Stoppard, England
Play
1968
The Lion in Winter
by James Goldman, United States
Play
1969
What the Butler Saw
by Joe Orton, England
Play
1970
The Accidental Death of an Anarchist
by Dario Fo, Italy
Play
1973
Equus
by Peter Shaffer, England
Play
1975
Death and the King's Horseman
by Woled Soyinka, Nigeria
Play
1978
Betrayal
by Harold Pinter, England
Play
1977
The Elephant Man
by Bernard Pomerance, United States
Play
Fefu and Her Friends
by María Irene Fornés, United States
Play
1978
Fifth of July
by Lanford Wilson, United States
Play
1979
Cloud 9
by Caryl Churchill, England
Play
Amadeus
by Peter Shaffer, England
Play
1982
Top Girls
by Caryl Churchill, England
Play
Noises Off
by Michael Frayn, England
Play
The Real Thing
by Tom Stoppard, England
Play
"Master Harold"...and the Boys
by Athol Fugard, S. Africa
Play
1984
Glengarry Glen Ross
by David Mamet, United States
Play
1985
Fences
by August Wilson, United States
Play
1987
The Piano Lesson
by August Wilson, United States
Play
1988
M. Butterfly
by David Henry Hwang, United States
Play
1990
Dancing at Lughnasa
by Brian Friel, England
Play
1991–1992
Angels in America
by Tony Kushner, United States
Play, subtitled A Gay Fantasy on National Themes, includes two parts Millennium Approaches and Perestroika.
1993
Arcadia
by Tom Stoppard, England
Play
1998
Copenhagen
by Michael Frayn, England
Play
2000
Proof
by David Auburn, United States
Play
2001
Topdog/Underdog
by Suzan-Lori Parks, United States
Play
2004
The History Boys
by Alan Bennett, England
Play
Stuff Happens
by David Hare, England
Play
2007
Dara Shikoh
by Danish Iqbal, India
Play
2008
Ruined
by Lynn Nottage, United States
Play
2009
Jerusalem
by Jez Butterworth, England
Play
2011
Water by the Spoonful
by Quiara Alegría Hudes, United States
Play
2012
Disgraced
by Ayad Akhtar, United States
Play
2015
John
by Annie Bsker, United States
Play
The Humans
by Stephen Karam, United States
Play
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