What is a great play to read?
Well this might just be our most ambitious question yet, so I will give a rather equivocal answer: There are too many great plays! But don’t fear, I will try and help you narrow the choices down. We have a number of great lists on the site and I think that’s the best way to find a great play. So if you want to find what is a great play to read check out the lists below…
This is a great place to start. All these plays are stupendous. Some might be a bit of a struggle to get through, especially if your not used to reading some of the archaic language in the older plays, but they are all masterpieces in their own right.
This is a great list of American plays. The top three are all amazing, and all have film versions, if you’re really lazy.
British playwrights are the masters of language. If you like British plays this is a great list to find some new plays.
Australian plays are visceral and intense. They often feature quite dark themes and can be quite violent if you haven’t read or seen one before. This list is a great starting point.
Picking a great play to read
You are always safe reading any play by one of the great playwrights. We also have ‘best of’ lists for a number of playwrights on the site, so if you like a play by a particular playwright check out what else they have written.
All the plays featured on these lists are great. It is important to read widely and to see as much theatre as possible. I love reading plays, but plays are meant to be performed, so go see them in a theatre near you!
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