Stage Pages
Reading list · 30 plays

Underrated Public-Domain Plays Worth Discovering

For every Hamlet there are a hundred plays that deserve more contemporary attention than they get. The list below collects scripts whose authors are less famous than their best work warrants.

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  1. The Jew of Malta

    by Christopher Marlowe · 1593 · Tragedy

    The Jew of Malta (first published 1593) is a stage play by Christopher Marlowe, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  2. Tamburlaine the Great — Part 1

    by Christopher Marlowe · 1593 · Tragedy

    Christopher Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great — Part 1 (first published 1593) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  3. The Playboy of the Western World: A Comedy in Three Acts

    by J. M. (John Millington) Synge · 1909 · Comedy

    J. M. (John Millington) Synge's The Playboy of the Western World: A Comedy in Three Acts (first published 1909) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters…

  4. The Well of the Saints: A Comedy in Three Acts

    by J. M. (John Millington) Synge · 1909 · Comedy

    Written by J. M. (John Millington) Synge (first published 1909), The Well of the Saints: A Comedy in Three Acts stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes…

  5. Cyrano de Bergerac

    by Edmond Rostand · 1918 · Drama

    Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac (first published 1918) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  6. The Tinker's Wedding

    by J. M. (John Millington) Synge · 1909 · Drama

    The Tinker's Wedding (first published 1909) is a stage play by J. M. (John Millington) Synge, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  7. Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare

    by E. (Edith) Nesbit · 1924 · Drama

    Written by E. (Edith) Nesbit (first published 1924), Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  8. Massacre at Paris

    by Christopher Marlowe · 1593 · Tragedy

    Massacre at Paris (first published 1593) is a stage play by Christopher Marlowe, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  9. Tamburlaine the Great — Part 2

    by Christopher Marlowe · 1593 · Tragedy

    Tamburlaine the Great — Part 2 (first published 1593) is a stage play by Christopher Marlowe, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  10. Deirdre of the Sorrows

    by J. M. (John Millington) Synge · 1909 · Drama

    Deirdre of the Sorrows (first published 1909) is a stage play by J. M. (John Millington) Synge, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  11. The School for Scandal

    by Richard Brinsley Sheridan · 1816 · Verse Drama

    A defining work of Restoration & Neoclassical, The School for Scandal by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (first published 1816) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  12. Egmont

    by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · 1832 · Tragedy

    Written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (first published 1832), Egmont stands as one of the durable works of Restoration & Neoclassical, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  13. Phaedra

    by Jean Racine · 1699 · Tragedy

    Written by Jean Racine (first published 1699), Phaedra stands as one of the durable works of Renaissance & Elizabethan, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  14. Polyeucte

    by Pierre Corneille · 1684 · Tragedy

    A defining work of Renaissance & Elizabethan, Polyeucte by Pierre Corneille (first published 1684) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  15. The Clouds

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    The Clouds (first published -386) is a stage play by Aristophanes, a touchstone of the Greek Antiquity repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  16. Peace

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    Written by Aristophanes (first published -386), Peace stands as one of the durable works of Greek Antiquity, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  17. Wilhelm Tell

    by Friedrich Schiller · 1805 · Verse Drama

    Wilhelm Tell (first published 1805) is a stage play by Friedrich Schiller, a touchstone of the Restoration & Neoclassical repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  18. The Acharnians

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    Aristophanes's The Acharnians (first published -386) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  19. The Birds

    by Aristophanes · 386 BCE · Comedy

    A defining work of Greek Antiquity, The Birds by Aristophanes (first published -386) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  20. Faust — Part 1

    by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe · 1832 · Verse Drama

    Written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (first published 1832), Faust — Part 1 stands as one of the durable works of Restoration & Neoclassical, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  21. The Hunchback

    by James Sheridan Knowles · 1862 · Drama

    James Sheridan Knowles's The Hunchback (first published 1862) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  22. The Admirable Crichton

    by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie · 1937 · Drama

    J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie's The Admirable Crichton (first published 1937) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

  23. The Love-chase

    by James Sheridan Knowles · 1862 · Drama

    The Love-chase (first published 1862) is a stage play by James Sheridan Knowles, a touchstone of the Romantic Drama repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  24. Every Man in His Humour

    by Ben Jonson · 1637 · Verse Drama

    A defining work of Renaissance & Elizabethan, Every Man in His Humour by Ben Jonson (first published 1637) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  25. Every Man out of His Humour

    by Ben Jonson · 1637 · Verse Drama

    A defining work of Renaissance & Elizabethan, Every Man out of His Humour by Ben Jonson (first published 1637) continues to attract directors, dramaturgs, and student companies looking for material that rewards close reading and bold staging.

  26. Cynthia's Revels; Or, The Fountain of Self-Love

    by Ben Jonson · 1637 · Verse Drama

    Cynthia's Revels; Or, The Fountain of Self-Love (first published 1637) is a stage play by Ben Jonson, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  27. Epicoene; Or, The Silent Woman

    by Ben Jonson · 1637 · Verse Drama

    Epicoene; Or, The Silent Woman (first published 1637) is a stage play by Ben Jonson, a touchstone of the Renaissance & Elizabethan repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  28. The Hairy Ape

    by Eugene O'Neill · 1953 · Drama

    The Hairy Ape (first published 1953) is a stage play by Eugene O'Neill, a touchstone of the Realism & Naturalism repertoire that has been performed continuously for generations.

  29. Dear Brutus

    by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie · 1937 · Drama

    Written by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie (first published 1937), Dear Brutus stands as one of the durable works of Realism & Naturalism, regularly revived for its richly playable scenes and theatrically generous structure.

  30. Anna Christie

    by Eugene O'Neill · 1953 · Drama

    Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie (first published 1953) is a script directors return to whenever they want a vehicle that combines language of real beauty with characters actors actually fight to play.

How this list was put together

The selections above were drawn from the full Stage Pages archive of 520 public-domain stage plays. Where ranking is implied by the order, that ranking is editorial — defensible, but not unanimous. Where the list is alphabetical or chronological, we say so.

If you have a candidate we missed, the whole library is one click away from the main scripts index; we add titles to lists as the catalogue grows.