The 101 Greatest Plays

What makes a great play? Does the definition change with time and circumstance? Are certain common factors visible down the ages? This book answers these questions.

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'The 101 Greatest Plays? I know: it sounds a bit arrogant. Who, after all, has the encyclopedic knowledge to make such a list? I guess that, during nearly fifty years as a critic, I must have seen some nine thousand plays. I have tried to use that experience in the book and make constant reference to particular productions that reinforce my notion of greatness. Eyebrows will doubtless be raised about my final selection: the omissions even more than the inclusions. Shakespearians will be outraged, Beckettians will be astonished. Let the debate begin...' Britain's longest-serving theatre critic Michael Billington's provocative and highly personal selection of the 101 greatest plays ranging from the Greeks to the present-day. 101 extended essays - and occasional dialogues - put the plays in context, justify their inclusion, explain their significance and trace their performance history. Ultimately, it's a book that poses an infinite number of questions. What makes a great play? Does the definition change with time and circumstance? Are certain common factors visible down the ages?
In revising the canon The 101 Greatest Plays is bound to stimulate passionate argument, but first and foremost it is a celebration of the art of the dramatist. It is the product of a lifetime spent watching and reading, a record of the adventures of a soul amongst masterpieces.