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Play Club

We’re coming together to read plays online!

Inviting playwrights, performers, directors, academics and audiences to come together via Zoom to read plays and talk about them. The objective is to work our way through The Guardian’s recently retired and hugely respected critic, Michael Billington’s 101 Greatest Plays. 

Register below and we’ll send you information about upcoming readings and how to join, it’s easy.

We’d love to help to discover the next 101 great plays, so if you’re a playwright and would like the opportunity to hear your play read out loud, then please register and we’ll send you more information.

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The Plays

The Guardian’s theatre critic, Michael Billington, has selected what he thinks are the 101 greatest plays ever written, in any western language. We thought we’d try and read them. You can buy his book here. This is the list:

1. The Persians by Aeschylus

2. Oedipus the King by Sophocles

3. Helen by Euripides

4. Assembly-Women by Aristophanes

5. The Brothers Menaechmus by Plautus

6. The Mysteries adapted by Tony Harrison

7. Edward II by Christopher Marlowe

8. Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare

9. Henry IV Parts One and Two by William Shakespeare

10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

11. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

12. The Malcontent by John Marston

13. A Mad World, My Masters by Thomas Middleton

14. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

15. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

16. The Alchemist by Ben Jonson

17. The White Devil by John Webster

18. Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega

19. Punishment without Revenge by Lope de Vega

20. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

21. The Illusion by Pierre Corneille

22. Tartuffe by Molière

23. The Misanthrope by Molière

24. Andromache by Jean Racine

25. The Rover by Aphra Behn

26. Venice Preserv’d by Thomas Otway

27. Love for Love by William Congreve

28. The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar

29. The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux

30. The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni

31. La Triologia della Villegiatura by Carlo Goldoni

32. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

33. The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

34. The Marriage of Figaro by Pierre-Augustin Caron deBeaumarchais

35. Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

36. Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller

37. Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller

38. The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist

39. The Prince of Homburg by Heinrich von Kleist

40. The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol

41. Woyzeck by Georg Büchner

42. An Italian Straw Hat by Eugène Labiche

43. Brand by Henrik Ibsen

44. The Forest by Alexander Ostrovsky

45. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

46. The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen

47. The Power of Darkness by Leo Tolstoy

48. The Father by August Strindberg

49. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind

50. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

51. Le Dindon by Georges Feydeau

52. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

53. The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

54. Summerfolk by Maxim Gorky

55. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie 

56. Waste by Harley Granville Barker

57. Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler

58. The Daughter-in-Law by D. H. Lawrence

59. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

60. Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw

61. Exiles by James Joyce

62. The Verge by Susan Glaspell

63. Henry IV by Luigi Pirandello

64. Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey

65. The Front Page by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur

66. Machinal by Sophie Treadwell

67. Tales from the Vienna Woods by Ödön von Horváth

68. The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman

69. Design for Living by Noël Coward

70. The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca

71. The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

72. Mr Puntila and His Man Matti by Bertolt Brecht

73. Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill

74. Men Should Weep by Ena Lamont Stewart

75. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

76. The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco (1912–94)

77. The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan

78. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

79. Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler

80. The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

81. All That Fall by Samuel Beckett

82. The Entertainer by John Osborne

83. The Fire Raisers by Max Frisch

84. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

85. Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance by John Arden

86. Chips with Everything by Arnold Wesker

87. The Homecoming by Harold Pinter

88. Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer

89. Absurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn

90. Bingo by Edward Bond

91. Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka

92. The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard

93. Top Girls by Caryl Churchill

94. Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

95. Racing Demon by David Hare

96. The Weir by Conor McPherson

97. Copenhagen by Michael Frayn

98. The Goat by Edward Albee

99. The History Boys by Alan Bennett

100. Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth

101. King Charles III by Mike Bartlett

Register

Don’t hesitate to email us at playclub@nonfiction.partners if you’re having any problems

Using ZOOM

We use ZOOM Video Conferencing to chat online. You can access ZOOM from your web browser (Chrome works best) or you can download the app. For instructions about how join meetings or download ZOOM, click the links below.


Download in App Store


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https://youtube.com/watch?v=hIkCmbvAHQQ%3Frel%3D0%26%23038%3Bautoplay%3D1%26%23038%3Bcc_load_policy%3D1

The Plays

The Guardian’s theatre critic, Michael Billington, has selected what he thinks are the 101 greatest plays ever written, in any western language. We thought we’d try and read them. You can buy his book here. This is the list:

1. The Persians by Aeschylus

2. Oedipus the King by Sophocles

3. Helen by Euripides

4. Assembly-Women by Aristophanes

5. The Brothers Menaechmus by Plautus

6. The Mysteries adapted by Tony Harrison

7. Edward II by Christopher Marlowe

8. Love’s Labour’s Lost by William Shakespeare

9. Henry IV Parts One and Two by William Shakespeare

10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare

11. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare

12. The Malcontent by John Marston

13. A Mad World, My Masters by Thomas Middleton

14. Macbeth by William Shakespeare

15. Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

16. The Alchemist by Ben Jonson

17. The White Devil by John Webster

18. Fuenteovejuna by Lope de Vega

19. Punishment without Revenge by Lope de Vega

20. Life Is a Dream by Pedro Calderón de la Barca

21. The Illusion by Pierre Corneille

22. Tartuffe by Molière

23. The Misanthrope by Molière

24. Andromache by Jean Racine

25. The Rover by Aphra Behn

26. Venice Preserv’d by Thomas Otway

27. Love for Love by William Congreve

28. The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar

29. The Game of Love and Chance by Marivaux

30. The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni

31. La Triologia della Villegiatura by Carlo Goldoni

32. She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith

33. The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan

34. The Marriage of Figaro by Pierre-Augustin Caron deBeaumarchais

35. Nathan the Wise by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

36. Don Carlos by Friedrich Schiller

37. Mary Stuart by Friedrich Schiller

38. The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist

39. The Prince of Homburg by Heinrich von Kleist

40. The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol

41. Woyzeck by Georg Büchner

42. An Italian Straw Hat by Eugène Labiche

43. Brand by Henrik Ibsen

44. The Forest by Alexander Ostrovsky

45. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

46. The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen

47. The Power of Darkness by Leo Tolstoy

48. The Father by August Strindberg

49. Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind

50. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

51. Le Dindon by Georges Feydeau

52. Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov

53. The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov

54. Summerfolk by Maxim Gorky

55. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie 

56. Waste by Harley Granville Barker

57. Professor Bernhardi by Arthur Schnitzler

58. The Daughter-in-Law by D. H. Lawrence

59. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

60. Heartbreak House by George Bernard Shaw

61. Exiles by James Joyce

62. The Verge by Susan Glaspell

63. Henry IV by Luigi Pirandello

64. Juno and the Paycock by Sean O’Casey

65. The Front Page by Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur

66. Machinal by Sophie Treadwell

67. Tales from the Vienna Woods by Ödön von Horváth

68. The Suicide by Nikolai Erdman

69. Design for Living by Noël Coward

70. The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca

71. The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht

72. Mr Puntila and His Man Matti by Bertolt Brecht

73. Long Day’s Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill

74. Men Should Weep by Ena Lamont Stewart

75. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

76. The Chairs by Eugène Ionesco (1912–94)

77. The Deep Blue Sea by Terence Rattigan

78. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

79. Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler

80. The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

81. All That Fall by Samuel Beckett

82. The Entertainer by John Osborne

83. The Fire Raisers by Max Frisch

84. A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

85. Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance by John Arden

86. Chips with Everything by Arnold Wesker

87. The Homecoming by Harold Pinter

88. Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer

89. Absurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn

90. Bingo by Edward Bond

91. Death and the King’s Horseman by Wole Soyinka

92. The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard

93. Top Girls by Caryl Churchill

94. Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel

95. Racing Demon by David Hare

96. The Weir by Conor McPherson

97. Copenhagen by Michael Frayn

98. The Goat by Edward Albee

99. The History Boys by Alan Bennett

100. Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth

101. King Charles III by Mike Bartlett