Dramatic Plays

Originating in ancient Greece, the dramatic play is an enduring form of literature intended to be performed in front of an audience. Our Dramatic Plays Collection features a selection of works that exemplify the genre and its wide-ranging interpretations from ancient times to the present, including the dramatic monologue and choreopoem.

Publication year 1986

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Play: Drama, Realism, Humor, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Canadian Literature

The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway is a two-act play that was first performed in 1986 at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto. After being translated into French by Jocelyne Beaulieu, “Les Reines de la réserve” premiered by Théâtre Populaire du Québec in 1993. A version of the play in the Cree language was performed in 2010, and Canadian performances with Indigenous actors have been staged in the 2020s. Highway’s play re-envisions the 1965 play... Read The Rez Sisters Summary


Publication year 1959

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Natural World: Appearance & Reality, Relationships: Family

Tags Play: Drama, Absurdism

First produced in 1960, Edward Albee’s play The Sandbox is one of the celebrated playwright’s early one-acts and serves as a front-runner of American absurdist theater, an avant-garde artistic movement that began in Europe in the 1950s. Absurdism likens humanity to the Greek mythological figure Sisyphus, whose punishment for angering the gods was to endlessly roll a boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down each time.The term Theatre of the Absurd... Read The Sandbox Summary


Publication year 1895

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Values/Ideas: Fame, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Values/Ideas: Art, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Natural World: Appearance & Reality

Tags Play: Drama, Play: Tragedy, Play: Comedy / Satire, Russian Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction

While Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull is now regarded as one of his most famous plays, it was not until the second time it premiered in Russia that it garnered success. Written in 1895 and first produced the following year, The Seagull is set against the backdrop of a summer country home, and tackles The Consequences of Disillusionment, The Purpose of Art, and the price of Living in the Shadow of a Renowned Parent. Chekhov relies... Read The Seagull Summary


Publication year 1942

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: War, Relationships: Family, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Identity: Sexuality, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality

Tags Play: Drama, Allegory / Fable / Parable, WWII / World War II, Education, Education, American Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy, Classic Fiction

Thornton Wilder’s dramatic masterpiece, The Skin of Our Teeth, opened on Broadway in November of 1942, less than a year after the United States entered World War II. On the heels of the Great Depression (1929-1939), the war meant more sacrifice and hardship for the average American family, and another era of fear, loss, and anxiety about the future of humanity. The play is a satirical allegory for the human race’s seemingly indomitable will to... Read The Skin of Our Teeth Summary


Publication year 1611

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Society: Colonialism

Tags Classic Fiction, Elizabethan Era, Play: Drama, Modern Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, Romance, Relationships, Race / Racism, British Literature, Education, Education, Drama / Tragedy, Fantasy

The Tempest is a comic play by William Shakespeare. It is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works, along with Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, among others. The Tempest recounts the story of Prospero, the overthrown duke of Milan, who maroons his betrayers on a magical island. There, he creates spells and enchantments that toy with the evildoers until they promise to restore his throne. The production, first staged in London in... Read The Tempest Summary


Publication year 1613

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Society: Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction

The Tragedy of Mariam, Fair Queen of Jewry recounts actual historical events surrounding the execution of Mariam, the second wife of Herod the Great. Written by Elizabeth Cary, the Viscountess Falkland, this five-act play published in 1613 is unique in several ways—chiefly, in that it is the first English-language play authored and published by a woman. Multiple tragedies occur in the drama, which falls into the genre of a Senecan revenge tragedy. It’s also a... Read The Tragedy of Mariam Summary


Publication year 1996

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Sexuality, Values/Ideas: Art

Tags Play: Drama, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 2018

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Femininity

Tags Play: Drama, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Sports, Women's Studies (Nonfiction), Education, Education, Modern Classic Fiction, Drama / Tragedy


Publication year 1996

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Apathy, Relationships: Friendship

Tags Play: Drama

This Is Our Youth is a theatrical play of the realistic fiction genre, written by Kenneth Lonergan. It originally premiered in 1996 off-Broadway. It takes place in the US in 1982, during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, and centers around the lives of privileged youth who lack direction and fear The Disillusionment of Adulthood. Lonergan was inspired by his own experiences of listlessness and feeling lost in his youth in the early 1980s, as well as The... Read This Is Our Youth Summary


Publication year 1901

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Siblings, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Relationships: Marriage, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Relationships: Family, Society: Class

Tags Play: Drama, Russian Literature, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, History: World, Classic Fiction

Anton Chekhov wrote the play Three Sisters in 1900 as a commission for the now-famous Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). The production debuted there in 1901 and was directed by the MAT’s two founders, Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. It was the first play that Chekhov penned specifically for production at the MAT. Three Sisters uses the three titular characters—Olga, Masha, and Irina—to examine the decay of the Russian aristocracy. Raised and educated to become the... Read Three Sisters Summary


Publication year 1982

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Society: Class, Relationships: Mothers, Identity: Gender, Society: Economics

Tags Play: Drama, Gender / Feminism, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction

British playwright Caryl Churchill’s groundbreaking play Top Girls, which opened in 1982 both at the Royal Court Theatre in London (August) and Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in New York (December), is Churchill’s second internationally acclaimed play after Cloud Nine (1979). It won the 1983 Obie Award for Best Play of the Year, and it remains one of Churchill’s best-known and most widely produced plays, often anthologized as a canonical contemporary play. Top Girls was... Read Top Girls Summary


Publication year 1955

Genre Play, Fiction

Tags Play: Drama, Race / Racism, African American Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Education, Education


Publication year 1954

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Relationships: Fathers, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Class

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, Crime / Legal, Education, Education, Mystery / Crime Fiction, Drama / Tragedy

Reginald Rose was born in Manhattan, New York in 1920. He saw active service during the Second World War and began his writing career in 1950 with the play The Bus to Nowhere. The experience of serving on a jury in 1954 inspired Rose to write his most famous work, Twelve Angry Men. The play was first broadcast as a one-hour television drama that same year. In 1957, the play was adapted for film, starring... Read Twelve Angry Men Summary


Publication year 1993

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: Mortality & Death

Tags Play: Drama, Play: Historical, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, African American Literature, Black Arts Movement, Race / Racism, Class, Finance / Money / Wealth, Education, Education, American Literature, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Two Trains Running by August Wilson first opened in 1990 at the Yale Repertory Theatre with Samuel L. Jackson as Wolf and Laurence Fishburne playing Sterling. The play premiered on Broadway in 1992, receiving four Tony nominations in 1992 including Best Play. Two Trains Running is a part of Wilson’s Century Cycle, also known as the Pittsburgh Cycle, which consists of 10 plays: one for each decade of the 20th century, each depicting the changing... Read Two Trains Running Summary


Publication year 1897

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Relationships: Family

Tags Classic Fiction, Play: Drama, Russian Literature, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy

Uncle Vanya is a play in four acts written by celebrated Russian playwright and author Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). It is set in a provincial Russian estate and focuses on the tensions and disappointments between the disaffected Ivan “Uncle Vanya” Voitski and his circle of family and friends. As the characters navigate their intertwined lives, they grapple with regret, unrequited love, and the search for meaning and hope. The play reflects the uncertainty and change of... Read Uncle Vanya Summary


Publication year 1954

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Nostalgia, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Life/Time: The Past, Values/Ideas: Literature

Tags Play: Drama, Love / Sexuality, Relationships, British Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Classic Fiction


Publication year 1996

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Society: Colonialism

Tags Play: Drama, Historical Fiction, African American Literature, Race / Racism, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy

Venus is a play by Suzan-Lori Parks, published in 1996 and first performed the same year. Suzan-Lori Parks is a notable American playwright, known for works such as Topdog/Underdog, as well as screenplays, such as Girl 6 and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Venus reimagines the life of Saartjie Baartman, also known as Sarah Baartman, who was shown in exhibits across Europe as the Hottentot Venus in the early 19th century. The play addresses themes... Read Venus Summary


Publication year 2015

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Identity: Language, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Future, Life/Time: The Past, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Community, Society: Education, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Music, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt

Tags Historical Fiction, Romance, Play: Drama, Play: Comedy / Satire, Education, Education, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Humor


Publication year 1606

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies

Tags British Literature, Classic Fiction, Play: Comedy / Satire, Jacobean Era, Play: Drama, Classical Period

Volpone is a comedic play by English playwright Ben Jonson, written in 1605-06 and first performed by the King’s Men at the Globe Theatre the same year. The play was first published in a quarto in 1607 and then in an official folio, The Workes of Benjamin Jonson, in 1616. Volpone, like Jonson’s other popular works, is a satire that comments on The Corrupting Power of Greed,     The Moral Impact of Performance, and Seeking Justice... Read Volpone Summary


Publication year 1935

Genre Play, Fiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Community, Society: Class

Tags Play: Drama, Class, Social Justice, Education, Education, American Literature, History: World, Drama / Tragedy, Historical Fiction, Classic Fiction

Waiting for Lefty is a one-act play by Clifford Odets. It initially premiered in January 1935, performed by the Group Theatre, a company started in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasburg with the goal of revolutionizing American theater as a means for social change. Lefty was Odets’s first produced play, written in response to a call by the New Theatre League for a piece to perform in union halls or meeting spaces... Read Waiting For Lefty Summary