
Best Shakespeare Plays
This is our list of the best Shakespeare plays (Updated May 2020). We have included his complete works of 37 plays ranked from best to worst. Coming up with a definitive list of top Shakespeare plays was tough. Very tough. There were fights within the StageMilk ranks, but we are very proud of this list. We all put forward our favourites, and why we loved them, then we looked at other great resources: books, interviews and scholars. We asked teachers, scholars, actors, and directors and this was what we came up with. At the end of the day it always comes back to personal taste, so yes this is a very subjective list. But put simply: these are the plays we loved the most!
We wanted to make this list to help inspire actors to read more of Shakespeare’s plays. Though I think we should all read his complete works, there are clearly some standouts that we want to encourage actors to read. (It was also just really fun to put together).Everyone has their own connection with Shakespeare and it changes over time. The plays we love as teenagers sometimes become the ones we can’t detest later in life. Hopefully this list inspires you to think deeply about which plays you love, and why.
Shakespeare offers actors some of the most muscular and detailed text that you can work with. It is fantastic stuff to hone your craft. If you want to learn more about acting Shakespeare we have tonnes of great content on the site. But at the end of the day, reading his plays is one of the best ways to improve your Shakespearean skills.
Shakespeare’s plays are put on throughout the world, and so being familiar with them, and understanding the language, is an essential skill for an actor. This is our list, and a great starting point if you haven’t read much Shakespeare, but feel free to let us know what you think in a comment below. If you can read all these great Shakespeare plays you will be well on the way to having a deep understanding of his work.
Shakespeare Plays (From Best to Worst)
-
1
Tragedy
Written 1599-1601 -
2
Tragedy
Written 1605-1606 -
3
Tragedy
Written 1606 -
4
Tragedy
Written 1603-1604 -
5
Tragedy
Written 1592-1593 -
6
Comedy
Written 1595 -
7
Tragedy
Written 1595 -
8
Tragedy
Written 1598-1599 -
9
Comedy
Written 1601-1602 -
10
History
Written before 1597 -
11
History
Written 1595 -
12
Comedy
Written 1599 -
13
Comedy
Written 1610–1611 -
14
Comedy
Written 1598-1599 -
15
History
Written before 1599 -
16
Comedy
Written 1596-1599
-
17
History
Written before 1597 -
18
Tragedy
Written 1605-1608 -
19
Tragedy
Written around 1607 -
20
Comedy
-
21
Comedy
Written mid-1590s -
22
Comedy
Written 1603-1604 -
Henry VI Part 123
History
Written 1591 -
Taming of the Shrew24
Comedy
Written 1590-1591
-
Henry VI Part 325
History
Written 1591 -
Cymbeline26
Tragedy
-
Henry VI Part 227
History
Written 1591
-
The Comedy of Errors28
Comedy
-
Titus Andronicus29
Tragedy
Written 1588-1593
-
30
History
Written mid-1590s -
All’s Well That Ends Well31
Comedy
Written 1598-1608 -
Troilus and Cressida32
Comedy
-
Timon of Athens33
Comedy
Written 1605–1606 -
Two Gentlemen of Verona34
Comedy
-
Henry VIII35
Comedy
-
36
Comedy
-
37
Comedy
Note: we have not included Two Noble Kinsman or Edward 3.
I am sure many of you will disagree with this list, but I love that. I think Shakespeare means something different to all of us. But I hope you have enjoyed reading out list of best Shakespeare plays. We have a full listing of all Shakespeare plays, if you want to see an unranked list of the Bard’s work.
At the end of the day the more you read Shakespeare’s work the better you get at performing it. Here is a snippet from an interview with one of the leading authorities on Shakespeare, Damien Ryan. Damien is the artistic director of Sport for Jove Theatre.
Why Reading Shakespeare is Important
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