The Kreutzer Sonata
A man recounts the marriage that drove him into obsessive jealousy. His account of intimacy, suspicion, and a musical performance exposes the destructive beliefs beneath his claim to have been betrayed.
Plays
8284 shows
Clear filtersThe Kudzu Queen
In 1942, Grenadine Purdy wins a pageant promoting kudzu; by 1968, the Purdy family has built a profitable business around the plant.
The Labourers of Herakles
At a construction site for a new theatre in Delphi, laborers build the orchestra while a chorus becomes trapped in cement and Herakles rises from the site. Tony Harrison uses Herakles’s madness and the persecuted dramatist Phrynichos to confront genocide, ethnic cleansing and the limits of art in the face of the Bosnian War.
The Ladies Visiting Day
The Ladies Visiting Day is a 1701 comedy play by the English writer William Burnaby. The original Lincoln's Inn Fields cast included Thomas Betterton as Courtine, John Verbruggen as Polidore, Thomas Doggett as Sir Testy Dolt, George Pack as Ned, George Bright as Strut, John Bowman as Saunter, Francis Leigh as Sir Thrifty Gripe, Elizabeth Barry as Lady Lovetoy, Anne Bracegirdle as Fulvia, Elizabeth Bowman as Lady Dolt, Elinor Leigh as Lady Autumn, Abigail Lawson as Lady Weepwell, Elizabeth Willis as Mrs Ruffly and Mary Porter as Lettice.
The Lady Aoi
In a modern hospital room, Lady Aoi lies ill as her husband Hikaru encounters the aging Mrs. Rokujo, whose unrequited love and ghostly presence torment Aoi.
The Lady Mother
Lady Marlove and her daughters navigate courtship and marriage while Lady Marlove and her son face execution for an alleged murder. A concluding death masque is dispelled by Hymen, and the supposedly dead Thurston is revealed to be alive and married to Clariana.
The Lady from Dubuque
During a party, Jo’s terminal illness and bitterness unsettle the group of young couples. After guests leave, the mysterious Elizabeth and her companion Oscar arrive. Elizabeth claims to be Jo’s mother, though Sam knows that cannot be true; Jo accepts her, and Elizabeth and Oscar become figures of death as Jo dies.
The Lady from Trevélez
In a provincial town, members of the Guasa Club wager on seducing Flora de Trevelez. Their cruel joke ensnares both Flora and her brother Gonzalo.
The Lady from the Sea
Ellida Wangel, raised by a lighthouse and drawn to the sea, is restless in her marriage to Dr. Wangel. A former sailor-lover returns to claim her, forcing her to choose between him and her husband. Wangel finally recognizes Ellida's freedom to choose; she chooses to stay, and they begin their life together again.
The Lady from the Sea (Simon Stone adaptation)
Ellida questions the comfortable marriage she has made with a wealthy doctor. When a former lover arrives at their secluded country home, she must decide whether to remain with her family or return to the life she abandoned.
The Lady from the Sea (Susane Lee adaptation)
In late-1960s Ontario, Ellida struggles with life in a new country and distance from her stepdaughters. An old friend offers comfort, but a secret from her past deepens the fears that isolate her.
The Lady of Larkspur Lotion
A dreamy, delusional heroine clashes with her brusque, practical landlady, who wants to evict her from her apartment.
The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride
Pauline rejects Marquis Beauséant, but he persuades gardener’s son Claude Melnotte to disguise himself as a foreign prince and win her. When she discovers the deception, their marriage is annulled and Melnotte enlists to atone. Later, as Pauline’s father faces bankruptcy and Beauséant demands her hand, Melnotte returns a war hero and Pauline recognizes her love for him.
The Lady of May
At Wanstead, a woman asks Queen Elizabeth to choose which of her daughter’s two suitors should win her hand. Foresters and shepherds stage a singing contest and debate, with the Queen ultimately judging the shepherd Espilus the winner. The one-act pastoral masque also carries allegorical references to Elizabeth’s suitors.
The Lady of Pleasure
Lady Bornwell pursues courtly pleasures and spends her husband’s money; Sir Thomas tries to reform her by feigning interest in a young widow, but his scheme fails. The prospect of bankruptcy and a humiliating mistaken encounter shock Aretina into restraint. A parallel plot follows Celestina’s effort to reform Lord A’s misogyny, with a comic subplot around the scholar-turned-drunken Master Frederick.
The Lady of the Camellias
Marguerite Gautier, a courtesan with tuberculosis, and Armand Duval fall in love and leave Paris for the countryside. Armand’s father persuades Marguerite to leave to protect his daughter’s marriage prospects; Armand wrongly believes she chose another man until he reaches her on her deathbed.
The Lady of the Lilacs
Miss Smith investigates a murder in a small town.
The Lady's Not for Burning
A war-weary soldier who wants to die and a woman accused of witchcraft who wants to live are caught in a medieval town's witch-hunt and a household's romantic entanglements.
The Lady's Revenge
The Lady's Revenge, or the Rover Reclaim'd is a 1734 comedy play by the British writer William Popple. The original Covent Garden cast included Lacy Ryan as Sir Harry Lovejoy, Thomas Walker as Heartly, Thomas Chapman as Sir Lively Brainless, Jane Rogers as Laetitia Lovejoy, Anne Hallam as Lady Traffick and Elizabeth Younger as Betty. The prologue and epilogue were written by Aaron Hill. The play was dedicated to Frederick, Prince of Wales and according to Popple this led to criticism of the work by those opposed to the government.
The Ladykillers
Five criminals posing as amateur musicians rent rooms from Mrs Wilberforce and involve her unknowingly in a robbery. When she discovers their scheme, the gang decides to silence her, turning her house into a battle between their plans and her stubborn resolve.
The Lady’s Trial
In Genoa, nobleman Auria leaves his low-born wife Spinella while he goes to war. When Adurni’s attempted seduction of her becomes a public scandal, a formal trial lets Spinella prove her honor. Auria rejects violent revenge, Adurni marries Spinella’s sister, and interwoven plots of disguise, reform and comic courtship end in four marriages.
The Lake
Stella leaves an affair with a married man to marry the wealthy John Clayne, then discovers she truly loves her new husband. Their happiness ends when their car plunges into a garden lake and John drowns.
The Lame Lover
The Lame Lover is a 1770 comedy play by the British writer Samuel Foote. Foote wrote the play while he was recovering from the amputation of his leg, following a riding accident. The original Haymarket cast starred Foote himself as Sir Luke Limp. The cast also included Thomas Robson as Colonel Secret, Thomas Weston as Jack and Sarah Gardner as Mrs Circuit.
The Land Acknowledgement, or As You Like It
An anticipated Shakespeare performance gives way to an extended land acknowledgement. Cliff Cardinal uses humour, direct address, and confrontation to question reconciliation, settler comfort, and the relationship between Indigenous communities and Canadian audiences.
The Land Is Bright
Across three generations, the Kincaid family rises from a railroad worker’s dubious fortune into New York society. The final generation rejects the pursuit of wealth for public service and military duty as the United States approaches war.
The Land We Live In
The Land We Live In is an 1804 comedy play by the British writer Francis Ludlow Holt. It appeared at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London on 29 December 1804. The cast included Dorothea Jordan as Lady Lovelace, Richard Wroughton as Sir Rowland English, William Powell as Sir Edward Melville, Robert William Elliston as Young Melville, William Barrymore as Sir Harry Lovelace, Vincent De Camp as Harcourt, John Bannister as Dexter, Ralph Wewitzer as Peter, Charles Mathews as Robert, John Henry Johnstone as Larry MacBoof, William Chatterley as Waiter, Maria Kemble as Miss Betty, Sarah Sparks as Mrs Doublecharge, Harriet Mellon as Polly, Charlotte Tidswell as Susan.
The Land of Heart's Desire
A faery child visits newlyweds Maire and Shawn Bruin in their family home and entices Maire toward an otherworld of eternal youth and joy. Maire dies in Shawn's arms as she gives herself to the faery world.
The Laramie Project
Drawing on interviews with Laramie residents, company members' journals, and news reports, the play presents community reactions to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard through short scenes in which eight actors portray more than sixty people.
The Lark
During her trial, Joan of Arc reenacts key events from her life and is condemned to death. At the stake, Cauchon realizes the judges have not allowed her to relive Charles VII’s coronation; the fire is extinguished and Joan receives a reprieve, leaving the outcome open.
The Lark
Joan reenacts her life during trial and faces condemnation. In Hellman's version, the play's account of the trial, execution, and reprieve presents Joan's story through multiple viewpoints and leaves the final historical outcome unresolved.
The Last Confession
During his final confession, Cardinal Giovanni Benelli recounts engineering Albino Luciani’s election as pope, then investigating the death of Pope John Paul I. He abandons the inquiry to protect the Church and tries to become pope himself, but the conclave elects Karol Wojtyła.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot tells the story of a court case over the ultimate fate of Judas Iscariot. The play uses flashbacks to an imagined childhood and lawyers who call for the testimonies of such witnesses as Mother Teresa, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, Sigmund Freud, and Satan.
The Last Days of Mankind
A vast grotesque drama of World War I, arranged in more than 200 scenes and partly drawn from documentary sources. It exposes the war’s absurdity through political delusion, press disinformation and public indifference.
The Last Days of the Celtic Tiger
Ross O’Carroll-Kelly loses his wealth and marriage after an investigation into his father’s fortune and his own affair with the family nanny. Left alone as the boom collapses, he looks for a way back to the life he once took for granted.
The Last Enemy
Two explorers die in the Antarctic but live on as spiritual guides to their children.
The Last Hour
The Last Hour is a 1928 comedy thriller play by the British writer Charles Bennett. At an inn on the coast of Devon, a secret agent battles a foreign prince trying to smuggle a stolen death ray out of the country. Bennett was in his mid 20s and a working actor in Ben Greet Repertory, Paris, at the time he wrote The Last Hour, which was one of his earliest plays; it followed the unsuccessful The Return, and Blackmail (which starred Tallulah Bankhead in a 1928 production). Bennett called it "very successful". The Last Hour was a success, running for 111 performances at the Comedy Theatre in the West End between 20 December 1928 and 23 March 1929. The cast included Cyril Raymond, Lydia Sherwood, Edward O'Neill and Franklin Dyall.
The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia
In 1962 Bradleyville, Texas, seven members of the Knights of the White Magnolia, a Ku Klux Klan-like group, gather in the meeting room of the Cattleman’s Hotel.
The Last Mile
In an Oklahoma prison death house, a condemned inmate is prepared for execution while the other prisoners watch. A rebellion follows, as inmates seize hostages and struggle to escape, ending in a bleak confrontation with the prison authorities.
The Last Night of Ballyhoo
The play is set in the upper class German-Jewish community living in Atlanta, Georgia in December 1939. Hitler has recently conquered Poland, Gone with the Wind is about to premiere, and Adolph Freitag (owner of the Dixie Bedding Company), his sister Boo, and sister-in-law Reba, along with nieces Lala and Sunny – a Jewish family so highly assimilated they have a Christmas tree in the front parlor – are looking forward to Ballyhoo, a lavish cotillion ball sponsored by their restrictive country club. Adolph's employee Joe Farkas is an attractive eligible bachelor and an Eastern European Jew, familiar with prejudice but unable to fathom its existence within his own religious community. His presence prompts college student Sunny to examine intra-ethnic bias, her Jewish identity (or lack thereof), and the beliefs with which she has been raised.
The Last Ones
A realistic four-act drama about the decline and fall of a Russian middle-class family, set in the home of Kolomiytsev, the town police chief.
The Last Straw
The Last Straw is a 1937 comedy play by the British writers Reginald Denham and Edward Percy. Its London premiere was at the Comedy Theatre in the West End, running for 52 performances between 29 September 13 November 1937. The original cast included Richard Haydn, Marius Goring, Andre Morell, Tom Gill, Arthur Hambling, Lucie Mannheim and Anna Konstam.
The Last Wife
Katherine Parr becomes Henry VIII's sixth wife and negotiates a dangerous royal household. Her efforts to protect the children, pursue her own desires, and exercise political influence bring her into conflict with the king.
The Last Yankee
At a New England mental hospital, two visiting husbands meet: Leroy Hamilton, a working-class descendant of a founding family, and successful businessman John Frick. Their wives, Patricia and Karen, are patients and friends; through the two couples' encounters, the play explores illness, marriage, social class and the uneasy equation of success with failure.
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Mrs Cheyney presents herself as a wealthy Australian widow, but she and her domestic staff are a gang of thieves targeting a valuable necklace. At a country-house party, two aristocrats pursue her; she resists blackmail and later tears up a marriage offer and incriminating letter, then chooses to marry one suitor and abandon her criminal past.
The Last of Mrs. Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln's life in the seventeen years after her husband's assassination.
The Last of My Solid Gold Watches
Mississippi shoe salesman Charlie Colton realizes that his time has passed and pathetically echoes himself; Williams is thought to have drawn on his own traveling-salesman father.
The Last of the Family
The Last of the Family is a comedy play by the British writer Richard Cumberland. It was first staged at Drury Lane Theatre on 8 May 1797 as a benefit performance for the actor John Bannister. The original cast included William Dowton as Sir John Manfred, John Bannister as Sir Adam ap Origen, Ralph Wewitzer as Squire Abel, Charles Kemble as Peregrine, Richard Suett as Beau Tiffany, Robert Palmer as Ned Flexible, Thomas Caulfield as George Ivey, John Hayman Packer as David Duncan, Jane Pope as Lady Manfred, Charlotte Tidswell as Lucy and Dorothea Jordan as Letitia Manfred.
The Last of the Haussmans
Recovering from an operation in her decaying Devon home, Judy Haussman gathers her children, granddaughter and other visitors around her. Her attachment to the ideals of the 1960s collides with family resentments, new infatuations and the consequences of an unsettled past.
The Last of the Tsars
Through the eyes of Grand Duke Michael, the drama follows the Romanov family and Russia from the years before the 1917 Revolution through the family's assassination, including Nicholas II's abdication and Michael's brief succession and abdication.
The Late Christopher Bean
(From Howard's version of the text) The story opens on a Thursday morning in a small village outside of Boston. Dr Haggett arrives home after delivering a baby and has his breakfast. He is reminded by his daughter Susan that that day is the last day that their maid, Abby, will be working for them before going to Chicago to help her recently widowed brother with his children. He then receives a telegram that an "admirer of the late Christopher Bean" will visit him that day at noon, signed by an art critic from New York named Maxwell Davenport. Putting it out of his mind, he is forced to cope with the petty quarrels of his family, including the desire of his older daughter Ada and Mrs Haggett for their traditional annual pilgrimage to Florida, a trip that seems unlikely thanks to their dwindling finances. The morning is interrupted when the village paper hanger Warren Creamer visits, showing off his recently completed paintings and offering to paint Susan and Ada. Meanwhile, Dr Haggett goes upstairs to shave, followed shortly by Mrs Haggett and Ada exiting to greet the new maid from Boston. While the family is out, Warren proclaims his love for Susan and asks her to elope with him, but is caught kissing her by Ada. Outraged, Ada calls the rest of the family back in, evoking a tidal wave of fury from Mrs Haggett, who throws Warren out of the house. Dr Haggett comforts Susan while Ada and his wife storm off, and finds himself rather unable to offer a solution to Susan's need to decide between staying and running off. He soon leads Susan upstairs so he can make his calls and so she can relax. Meanwhile, Tallant arrives at the house and is let in by Abby. His treatment of her appears friendly enough, but some of his comments rub her the wrong way. Dr Haggett comes downstairs, and Tallant begins to explain that he has come to pay off the debt to the doctor left behind by his late friend, Chris Bean. Mistaking Tallant for Davenport, the doctor shows Tallant the telegram he received that morning, which gives Tallant the idea to pose as Davenport. Tallant then pretends that Bean's work is of limited value, as the Haggetts previously believed, but requests to take the paintings away as "souvenirs." Dr Haggett readily agrees, and gives Tallant two paintings that are in questionable condition. He also asks Abby to examine the attic for any other paintings, explaining to her that Tallant is Davenport, a friend of Bean's. This statement strikes her as suspicious, but she reluctantly agrees to search. She returns empty-handed, so Tallant decides to leave with what he has, mentioning briefly that he and Dr Haggett might go into business together. Dr Haggett becomes very excited by the small debt that Tallant paid him and the prospective business, but Abby warns him to keep an eye on Tallant, whose extensive knowledge of Bean she finds disturbing. Realizing his need to fool Abby as well lest she blow his cover, Tallant quickly returns to the Haggett home in the hopes of having a private conversation with her. She confronts him about his claim to be a friend of Chris Bean's, stating that the only friend Bean ever mentioned was Bert Davis. Thinking quickly, Tallant says that he is indeed Davis, using Davenport as a professional name. Abby then lightens up, and expresses the close relationship she shared with Chris and the things about art that he taught her. Pretending to be sympathetic, Tallant gently coaxes her into revealing that she still possesses a life-size portrait of herself, painted by Chris and whose existence is unknown to the world at large. He asks that she visit him that night at the hotel he's staying at and that she bring the portrait. She shoos him away, afraid the Haggetts will find them talking, and promises to contemplate his offer to buy the portrait from her. Susan then rushes in and confesses her dilemma to Abby, followed shortly by the arrival of Warren. The three conspire to leave that afternoon, Abby to go to Chicago and Susan and Warren to elope. Warren says that they must meet at four-thirty that day in order to catch Abby's five o'clock train, then leaves. Warren's departure is followed almost immediately by the arrival of Rosen who, like Tallant, succeeds in making Abby uncomfortable with his knowledge of her and the household. He greets Dr Haggett by insisting on paying Chris Bean's debts, and asking if he could buy all of Bean's paintings for $1000. Stunned, Dr Haggett admits that he gave the paintings away to Davenport. Rosen is dissatisfied with this story, knowing Davenport to be more honest than to take any painting without paying the proper price. They go into the doctor's office to discuss this problem, while the real Davenport arrives right on time at noon. He too knows a lot about Abby, who has now reached a breaking point in light of all the suspicious visitors of that day. Davenport quickly introduces himself to Dr Haggett, who has now returned with Rosen. Rosen confirms that this is indeed the real Davenport, which frightens Dr Haggett, who has no idea now who the first man was. Davenport explains that he is there to collect information on Bean for a biography. He explains that Bean is a revered artist in New York and that his letters have been published the latest issue of the "Atlantic Monthly." Dr Haggett, finally realizing the meaning of the day's prior events, confesses that a third man simply took away the paintings of which he knew. Stressed considerably now, he requests that Davenport and Rosen return later. As Abby prepares lunch for the Haggetts, the doctor learns from his wife that she burned the other paintings left there by Bean. They also recall the portrait of Abby in her room and conspire on how to steal it, but to their dismay fail. Dr Haggett's anger and stress are exacerbated by numerous phone calls from New York requesting that he sell the Beans that he has. A confused Abby finally serves the distraught family their lunch. Act 3 opens with Davenport returning and Dr Haggett having left to investigate the whereabouts of Tallant. Susie explains to Davenport her plans to elope and asks his opinion of Warren's paintings, afraid that, if she marries him, they will run into financial trouble. She then offers to show Davenport around the village and give him details on Bean's life there. Dr Haggett finally returns, having learned Tallant's name and that he's placed the stolen paintings in a bank vault. Desperate, he, Mrs Haggett, and Ada try to fool Abby into selling them her portrait. She brings it into the living room, but still refuses to part with it. Tallant finally returns to talk to Abby, who quickly brushes him off and goes upstairs to pack. Dr Haggett now confronts Tallant, who requests that Mrs Haggett and Ada leave them alone. Tallant explains that the business he had in mind was the forgery of paintings by dead artists, and reveals that he himself is an accomplished artist and forger. Dr Haggett agrees to join Tallant's scheme, but Rosen then arrives looking to purchase real Christopher Bean works. Ditching Tallant, Dr Haggett single-handedly haggles with Rosen and sells him Abby's portrait. Meanwhile, Davenport returns to verify the authenticity of Abby's portrait and to try and deter Rosen from scamming the Haggetts. Warren arrives to help Abby pack, but Abby is distracted by the apparent sale of her painting, which Dr Haggett tries to claim she had sold to him. Her strong protests make him feel ashamed, but when she now reveals that she had saved the paintings that Mrs Haggett thought she had burned, he demands that she show them to him. Tallant, realizing his scheme to forge Chris Beans is now at an end, quickly leaves. Rosen and Davenport assess the paintings, while Abby miserably tries to say goodbye. Susie and Warren take her things out to Warren's truck, and Abby turns to go. Davenport catches her and begs her to consider loaning her portrait to an art museum, where it'll be safe and near her so she can visit it. She confesses to him that she married Christopher Bean, which quickly ends Dr Haggett's and Rosen's business dealings. Rosen, realizing that the portraits are rightfully hers and thus impossible to purchase (considering her attachment to them), gives up. Dr Haggett, realizing that Abby now has legal claim to the paintings and her portrait, gives them to her and sits miserably in his chair, with Mrs Haggett and Ada mourning their lost chances and Davenport smiling widely at Abby's triumph.
The Late Christopher Bean
When paintings left to a modest English family by the neglected artist Christopher Bean become valuable, the family grows avaricious. The maid, Gwenny, refuses to part with the portrait she owns; her personal connection to Bean changes the family’s claims to his work.
The Late Christopher Bean (Emlyn Williams version)
The Haggett family faces greed and deception after the late artist Christopher Bean's paintings become valuable; the English version relocates the action to the countryside and renames two characters.
The Late Lancashire Witches
In Lancashire during the 1633 witchcraft panic, supernatural disturbances overturn social order in local households. A sisterhood of witches disrupts a wedding, bewilders and humiliates the men, and attacks a mill; after evidence implicates the wife of the skeptical Master Generous, the women are arrested and the households are restored.
The Latent Heterosexual
A tax adviser persuades a successful writer who identifies as homosexual to marry a prostitute for financial advantage. The play follows the marriage's unexpected turn and the writer's growing absorption in corporate and tax schemes as his mental state deteriorates.
The Laughing Woman
Sculptor Rene Latour and philosopher Ingrid Rydman live as brother and sister in poverty in London. Their quarrels coexist with their mutual dependence; as war begins, Rene returns to France, where an epilogue says he dies on active service.
The Lavender Hill Mob
In a Rio de Janeiro expat club, Henry Holland recounts the gold robbery that changed his life. Mistaking a visitor for a film director, the club’s patrons and staff act out the caper, turning his account of an unlikely criminal partnership into a play within the play.
The Law Against Lovers
William Davenant reshapes Measure for Measure by adding Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing, making Angelo and Benedick brothers and introducing Beatrice’s singing, dancing younger sister Viola.
The Law of Lombardy
The Law of Lombardy is a 1779 tragedy by the Irish writer Robert Jephson. The original Drury Lane cast included William Smith as Paladore, Robert Bensley as King, John Hayman Packer as Rinaldo, Richard Hurst as Asciano, James Wrighten as Forester, John Henderson as Bireno, Mary Robinson as Alinda and Elizabeth Younge as Princess. It was dedicated by Jephson to George III.
The Law of Remains
A nonlinear, multimedia fantasia juxtaposes police reports on Jeffrey Dahmer’s murders with a fictionalized killer to confront violence and governmental indifference to the AIDS crisis. Sound and live and electronic imagery create an intentionally shocking, physically visceral experience.
The Law of the Land
The play tells the story of Margaret, a woman whose poor financial circumstances force her to marry Robert Harding in order to save her family from ruin. Harding is physically and verbally abusive towards her. She endures, but finds escape through an extramarital affair with the young man Geoffrey who is kind to her. Margaret becomes pregnant, but it is Geoffrey who is the father and not Robert. Initially, Robert believes Bennie is his son but five years after his birth he learns the truth. Robert attacks Bennie with a whip and Margaret intervenes to protect her son, killing her husband with a revolver. The Harding household rallies around Margaret to conceal the crime, with Chetwood the Butler and Arthur Brockland, Robert Harding's secretary, devising a scheme to make the death look like a suicide. Inspector Cochrane, Doctor Whittridge, and three policemen investigate the death and uncover truth that Margaret killed her husband and the suicide was faked. She is initially charged with murder with Geoffrey also accused as her accomplice. Ultimately Margaret is successful in convincing the police that she killed her husband in an act of self defense and the charges are dropped.
The Laws of Candy
In fictional Candy, a law punishes ingratitude and another lets victorious soldiers choose the most deserving. After Cassilanes's son Antinous wins the soldiers' acclaim, their conflict over recognition and money becomes entangled with Venetian lord Gonzalo's bid for power and the loves of Erota, Antinous and their suitors.
The League of Youth
Political opportunist Stensgaard poses as an idealist and builds a youth party to displace the old guard. His election ambitions collapse amid social and romantic intrigue, and the town drives him out.
The Leather Patch
The Leather Patch is an 1886 comedic play by Edward Harrigan with songs by David Braham. It debuted at Harrigan's Park Theatre in New York City on February 15, 1886, and ran through May.
The Leenane Trilogy
A Druid Theatre bill joining Martin McDonagh's The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West, with audiences able to see all three plays in a single day. The collective record describes the shared theatrical presentation and does not combine the plays' separate plots.
The Legend of Georgia McBride
Casey, a struggling Elvis impersonator in a small-town Florida bar, loses his job just as his wife becomes pregnant. When the owner replaces his act with a drag show, Casey learns to perform as a drag queen and finds a new path in show business.
The Legend of Leonora
At a dinner party Leonora is presented as a chameleon who embodies seven women. The comic court proceeding that follows concerns a man she pushed from a train after he refused to close a window for her sick daughter; she is ultimately acquitted.
The Lehman Trilogy
Across three acts, the play follows three immigrant brothers from their arrival in America and founding of a business in Alabama through the growth of Lehman Brothers and its 2008 bankruptcy, using a small ensemble to portray multiple generations and other figures.
The Lesson
During an increasingly nonsensical lesson in a French flat, the Professor becomes angry at his Pupil’s perceived ignorance as she grows quiet and ill; he eventually stabs her, and the Maid greets a new Pupil, repeating the cycle.
The Letter
On a Malayan plantation, Leslie Crosbie claims she shot her husband’s friend in self-defence. Her lawyer tries to secure her acquittal after an incriminating letter is discovered, but the play reveals the victim was Leslie’s lover and that he had rejected her for another woman.
The Letter Writers
Two merchants fear their young wives will take lovers and send threatening letters in an attempt to keep them faithful. The wives' affairs with officer Rakel lead to hiding places, elaborate deceptions and eventual discovery.
The Liar
In Paris, Dorante’s false stories about travel, romance and marriage entangle Clarice, Lucrece, his father Géronte and his friend Alcippe. Mistaken identities and escalating fabrications provoke jealousy and a duel before Dorante finally confesses and the situation resolves happily.
The Liar
Lelio returns to Venice and courts Beatrice and Rosaura without revealing which he loves. His invented claims keep Rosaura from Florindo, while his servant Arlecchino pursues Columbina; Lelio's deceptions unravel when it is revealed that he has already married a Roman woman.
The Liars
At a country-house gathering, Lady Jessica’s flirtation with Edward Falkner leads her companions to construct a barrage of lies to conceal the affair from her husband. The deceptions unravel, but Sir Christopher restores the marriage by persuading Gilbert to accept blame.
The Libation Bearers
Years after Agamemnon’s murder, his son Orestes returns to Argos with Pylades and meets his sister Electra at their father’s tomb. Following Apollo’s command and the Chorus’s encouragement, Orestes and Electra plan revenge: Orestes kills Aegisthus and then, despite hesitation, kills their mother Clytemnestra. The Furies pursue him for matricide.
The Libertine
Don John pursues a life of sexual violence and murder, repeatedly escaping consequences as women and the dead seek justice. After refusing the Commander's final warning, he and his companions are condemned to Hell.
The Library
The play centers on Caitlin Gabriel, a high-school student in an unnamed town who survives a school shooting, then struggles to relay her version of events against eyewitness reports from fellow survivors that she informed the shooter, who is based on Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, where other students had hidden. Even her own parents accept media reports of this accusation, which spark widespread revulsion towards her in the aftermath of the shooting.
The Lieutenant of Inishmore
In Ireland in 1993, the Northern Ireland peace process is taking its faltering first steps. On the island of Inishmore, a middle aged man named Donny berates foolish teenager Davey for allegedly killing his cat, Wee Thomas, with his bike - although Davey claims innocence. Donny explains that he was only caring for the cat on behalf of his son Padraic. Padraic is an insane (so much so that he was considered too mad for the Irish Republican Army) Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) member known commonly as 'Mad Padraic' and loves Wee Tommy more than life itself so will cause carnage when he hears of his death. Despite his dismay, Donny forgives Davey after forcing a confession from him and miserably phones Padraic. Padraic receives the call while torturing a Belfast drug dealer named James, ready to cut his nipples off having already pulled off his toenails. When he hears that his beloved cat, Wee Thomas, is poorly, Padraic breaks down on the phone in front of James. James gives some advice on ringworm medication for the cat and promises not to sell drugs to kids any more. Padraic briefly suspects James of hoodwinking him to escape but ultimately unties him and gives him money for the bus to the hospital to inspect his potentially infected toes. Padraic then heads back home to the island of Inishmore, where he learns that Wee Thomas is not sick but has been killed and so is intent on revenge. It is then revealed that the cat was not killed by Davey but by two INLA members who did it to attract Padraic over to Inishmore so they could kill him as his madness makes him a liability. Padraic kills four people including them and two other cats before Wee Thomas is found alive and well; the first cat was mistaken for him. At this point only Donny and Davey are still alive and although annoyed at Wee Thomas for creating all this trouble, feed him cereal.
The Life I Lead
The Life I Lead is a one-man comedy play by James Kettle about the life of English actor David Tomlinson.
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an -hour-long adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1839 novel, performed in two parts. Part 1 was 4 hours in length with one interval of 15 minutes. Part 2 was hours in length with two intervals of 12 minutes. It was originally presented onstage over two evenings, or in its entirety from early afternoon with a dinner break. Later it was presented on television over four evenings. The opening night was on 5 June 1980. The show ran for an 8-week season at the Aldwych Theatre, playing Part 1 on some nights and Part 2 on others with both parts playing together on matinée and evening performances. It was revived for two further 8-week runs at the Aldwych in the autumn season of 1980 and the spring season of 1981 before being filmed for Primetime TV at the Old Vic Theatre and transferring to Broadway for the autumn season of 1981. A further revival with a substantially different cast played at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford and toured to Los Angeles and Broadway in 1985. The play was adapted by David Edgar from the Charles Dickens novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn, the music and lyrics were by Stephen Oliver and the set design was by John Napier and Dermot Hayes. It transferred to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway, initially opening 4 October 1981 and running until 3 January 1982. Revivals of the original production were produced in 1986 (which returned to USA for a Broadway run and national tour) and a truncated version from 2006 to 2008.
The Life and Death of Captain Cook
A dramatic portrait of Captain James Cook’s life and death, written for the 1888 centenary celebrations in Australia.
The Life and Death of Jack Straw
The play portrays the 1381 Peasants' Revolt leader Jack Straw as a tragic figure misled into rebellion by priest John Ball. It allegorically links the revolt to political instability in late-Elizabethan England.
The Life and Death of King John
A history play depicting King John’s conflict with France, the papacy, and English nobles over the crown, ending with his death and the succession of his son Henry III.
The Life and Death of King Richard the Second
As Henry Bolingbroke challenges Richard II’s authority, Richard’s seizure of Bolingbroke’s inheritance helps drive the nobles to rebellion. Bolingbroke takes the throne as Henry IV, and Richard is imprisoned and murdered.
The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers
The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers is a one-man stage performance by American stage and screen actor Marc Summers. The performance takes place on a replica of the original Double Dare set, with audience members competing in stunts from the show to accentuate Summers's narration of his life's triumphs and setbacks. Alex Brightman adapted Summers's 1999 memoir as the basis for the work, which recounted his struggles with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). The 2017 Mathew Klickstein documentary On Your Marc was centered around the play's development.
The Life of Edward II of England
Brecht’s free-verse adaptation recounts Edward II’s troubled reign and death, the rise and fall of his favourite Gaveston and of Roger Mortimer, and the disordered fate of Queen Isabella, against the backdrop of England in 1307–1326.
The Life of Man
Surveyed by Someone in Grey (as well as another, anonymous character who is never leaving the stage), Man passes through life (in the grey world where all things are of colour grey) from birth to death as a blind man, unable to see what comes to him next. First he is destitute, then rises to affluence, and finally hits the bottom again. Cursing the anonymous witness to his tribulations, he imagines himself as a hapless warrior who loses everything in his strife against the unfathomable, evil forces. "I am armless now", he exclaims, before the candle (a symbol of life) dies and darkness falls.
The Life of Stuff
Small-time criminal Willie Dobie’s plans for a pharmaceutical business unravel, drawing eight people into a series of increasingly uncontrolled encounters.
The Lifespan of a Fact
Fact-checker Jim Fingal is assigned an essay by John D’Agata that could revive a struggling magazine. With editor Emily Penrose caught between them, their argument over disputed details becomes a confrontation about literary freedom and responsibility to the truth.
The Light Shines in the Darkness
An unfinished, autobiographical drama that reflects Leo Tolstoy’s personal dilemma through the lens of family life.
The Light of Heart
The Light of Heart is a 1940 play by the British writer Emlyn Williams. It ran for 127 performances at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End between 21 February and 8 June 1940. The cast included Godfrey Tearle, Megs Jenkins, Gladys Henson, Elliott Mason and Angela Baddeley. It later ran for 55 performances at the Guild Theatre on Broadway.
The Lights o' London
After Harold Armytage elopes with Bess Marks, his wealthy father disowns him. His scheming cousin frames him for a crime to secure the inheritance, but Harold escapes prison and later rescues the accomplice who confesses, allowing Harold to reclaim his inheritance and the cousin to face punishment.
The Likes of Her
The Likes of Her is a 1923 play by the British writer Charles McEvoy. It premiered at Battersea Town Hall on 30 January 1923. It enjoyed a West End run of 229 performances at St Martin's Theatre between 15 August 1923 and 1 March 1924. The original cast included Leslie Banks, (replaced by Clifford Mollison) Ian Hunter, Ben Field, Allan Jeayes (replaced by Felix Aylmer), Ivor Barnard, Mary Clare, Olga Lindo, Barbara Gott and Hermione Baddeley.
The Lily’s Revenge: A Flowergory Manifold
An uprooted Lily falls in love with a human bride, drawing the ire of the Great Longing Deity, a stage curtain bent on enforcing nostalgia and a fixed narrative. The Lily tries to take control of the story and create its own form, in a multi-part theatrical work combining verse, music, dance, puppetry and film.
The Limping Man
The Limping Man is a 1930 mystery thriller play by the British author Will Scott. It premiered at the Pleasure Gardens Theatre in Folkstone before transferring to London's West End. It ran for 91 performances between 19 January and 18 April 1931, initially at the Royaly Theatre before switching to the Apollo Theatre and then to the Shaftesbury. The West End cast included Arthur Hardy, Ronald Simpson, Franklin Dyall, Eve Gray. It subsequently returned to the West End for a longer run from 1935 to 1936.
The Linden Tree
The play takes place in 1947 England in the home of Professor Robert Linden, who holds the chair of modern history at the provincial University of Burmanley. Rationing and austerity seem to have fostered opportunism, escapism and confrontation within the Linden family, who have gathered to celebrate Professor Linden's 65th birthday and each of whom is struggling with their own crises. Linden wants only to continue teaching in a world that no longer seems to share his quiet ideals. The new vice-chancellor of the university is pressing Linden to retire, and family itself divides along political lines, the worldly versus the idealists. The critic Michael Billington summarises it thus: "Linden's put-upon wife, super-spiv son and expatriate daughter all press him to opt for retirement. But his other daughters – a dedicated NHS doctor and a 17-year-old cello-playing student – urge him to fight on."
The Line
Set in Montmartre, Timberlake Wertenbaker’s play explores the relationship between Edgar Degas and Suzanne Valadon, an artist he called the Master and a younger protégée whose drawing and way of life challenged his. Their artistic exchange unsettles the traditions and habits each represents.
The Line of Beauty
In 1983, Nick Guest moves into his university friend’s wealthy Notting Hill household, led by a newly elected Tory MP. His attraction to its privileged world brings desire into conflict with class, sexuality and public image.
The Lion and the Jewel
In Ilujinle, schoolteacher Lakunle and chief Baroka compete to marry Sidi, the village beauty. Their courtship brings into conflict modernizing ambitions, traditional authority and women’s autonomy; after Baroka outwits Sidi, she chooses to marry him, leaving Lakunle stunned.
The Lion in Love
In a northern town, Kit, an alcoholic, and her itinerant-salesman husband Frank drift through an extended family’s quarrels and unrealized plans. Their children begin to leave, and Frank briefly departs with his mistress, but returns to the life he shares with Kit.
The Lion in Winter
Set during Christmas 1183 at Henry II of England's castle in Chinon, Anjou, Angevin Empire, the play opens with the arrival of Henry's wife Eleanor of Aquitaine, whom he has had imprisoned since 1173. The story concerns the gamesmanship between Henry, Eleanor, their three surviving sons Richard, Geoffrey, and John, and their Christmas Court guest, the King of France, Philip II Augustus (Philippe Auguste), who was the son of Eleanor's ex-husband, Louis VII of France (by his third wife, Adelaide). Also involved is Philip's half-sister Alais (by Louis VII's second wife Constance), who has been at court since she was betrothed to Richard at age eight, but has since become Henry's mistress.
The Lion of Kabul
After two men kill United Nations aid workers, the Taliban throw them to Marjan, the one-eyed lion at Kabul Zoo, with the United Nations' unwilling collusion.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
A one-act, two-actor dramatization of C. S. Lewis’s children’s fantasy novel, set in Narnia.
The Lisbon Traviata
In Act I, depressed literary editor Stephen takes refuge with his opera-loving friend Mendy, discussing divas and listening to records while avoiding his failing eight-year relationship with doctor Paul. In Act II, Stephen returns home to confront Paul’s infidelity. Their shared opera fandom, especially devotion to Maria Callas, shapes their relationship.
The List
A woman whose life is organized around lists recounts the death of her neighbour. An overlooked task becomes the centre of a searching account of isolation, responsibility, and the difficulty of distinguishing the urgent from the essential.
The Little Cafe
Waiter Albert Loriflan unexpectedly inherits a fortune, but his unscrupulous café owner refuses to release him from a long-term contract, hoping he will pay to escape. Albert refuses and keeps working; he then falls in love with his employer's daughter, Yvonne.
The Little Damozel
A naval captain pays one of his crew to marry a woman.
The Little Dog Laughed
The four characters are an actor, Mitchell; his acerbic agent Diane; a hustler named Alex; and Alex's girlfriend Ellen. When Mitchell and Alex become involved in a physical relationship, Diane is concerned that what she describes as Mitchell's "slight recurring case of homosexuality" will derail his career before it gets started.
The Little Foxes
The play's focus is Southerner Regina Hubbard Giddens, who struggles for wealth and freedom within the confines of an early 20th-century society where fathers considered only sons as their legal heirs. As a result of this practice, while her two avaricious brothers have wielded the family inheritance into two independently substantial fortunes, she has had to rely upon her manipulation of her cautious, timid, browbeaten husband, Horace. He is no businessman, just her financial support; although he is pliable enough for her ambition, that ambition has driven him into becoming merely the tool of her insatiable greed. Her brother Oscar married Birdie, his much-maligned alcoholic wife, solely to acquire her family's plantation and cotton fields. Oscar now wants to join forces with his brother, Benjamin, to construct a cotton mill. They need an additional $75,000 and approach Regina, asking her to invest in the project. Oscar initially proposes marriage between his son Leo and Regina's daughter Alexandra—first cousins—as a means of getting Horace's money, but Horace and Alexandra are repulsed by the suggestion, as is Birdie. Horace refuses when Regina asks him outright for the money, so Leo, a bank teller, is pressured into stealing Horace's railroad bonds from the bank's safe deposit box. Horace, after discovering this, tells Regina he is going to change his will in favor of their daughter, and also claim he gave Leo the bonds as a loan, thereby cutting Regina out of the deal completely. When he has a heart attack during this chat, she makes no effort to help him. He dies within hours, without anyone knowing his plan and before changing his will. This leaves Regina free to blackmail her brothers by threatening to report Leo's theft unless they give her 75% ownership in the cotton mill. (It is, in Regina's mind, a fair exchange for the stolen bonds.) The price Regina ultimately pays for her evil deeds is the loss of her daughter's love and respect. Regina's actions cause Alexandra to finally understand the importance of not idly watching people do evil. She tells Regina she will not watch her be "one who eats the earth," and abandons her. Having let her husband die, alienated her brothers, and driven away her only child, Regina is left wealthy but completely alone.
The Little French Lawyer
In Paris, Dinant loves Lamira, who has married the wealthy Champernell, while Cleremont is drawn into a duel on Dinant’s behalf. Cleremont recruits the timid lawyer La-Writ as his second, and La-Writ’s lucky success turns him into an eager challenger; a series of schemes and misunderstandings eventually ends with reconciliations and a new couple.
The Little Glass Clock
The Little Glass Clock is a 1954 historical comedy play by the British author Hugh Mills. It premiered at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh before transferring to the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End where it ran for 138 performances 3 December 1954 and 2 April 1955. The West End cast featured John Clements, Kay Hammond, George Curzon, Basil Sydney and George Relph.
The Little Minister
After Luddite unrest in the Scottish town of Thrums, young minister Gavin Dishart falls for Lady Babbie, daughter of the local landowner, while she disguises herself as a Romany to aid the weavers. A hostile army captain seeks to punish her and the townspeople, but his schemes lead to Dishart and Babbie’s marriage.
The Little Sheep Run Fast
Newly married Kare goes to a farm for a holiday and falls in love with Rudd Barton, whose mother Amy runs the farm. Amy is jealous of her son's attention to other women and takes extreme action when she learns of Kare's marriage.
The Lives of Others
The Lives of Others is an upcoming play adapted by Robert Icke, based on Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck German film of the same name. Directed by Icke, the world premiere production of The Lives of Others is expected to open at the Adelphi Theatre in October 2026.
The Living Corpse
Fedor Protasov leaves his wife and life, believing his wife loves another man. When she remarries, he returns to testify that she thought him dead; after a court threatens her with exile or separation, he shoots himself, and she declares that she always loved him.
The Living Room
The play consists of two acts, each of two scenes and is set entirely in the living room of Rose Pemberton and her two elderly aunts who live with the aunts' brother James, a disabled Roman Catholic priest. The aunts have a long-running fear of death in the house, with any bedroom being locked away from further use following a death of its resident family member. The story revolves around the introduction of Rose's new lover, Michael Dennis, to the family. It later transpires that Michael is married when his suicidal wife arrives at the house.
The London Cuckolds
The London Cuckolds is a 1681 comedy play by the English writer Edward Ravenscroft. It was performed at the Dorset Garden Theatre by the Duke's Company. The original cast included Cave Underhill as Wiseacre, James Nokes as Doodle, Joseph Williams as Townly, John Wiltshire as Loveday, William Smith as Ramble, Anthony Leigh as Dashwell, John Richards as Tom, Elizabeth Currer as Eugenia, Elizabeth Barry as Arabella, Elinor Leigh as Engine and Margaret Osborne as Jane.
The London Hermit
The London Hermit, Or, Rambles in Dorsetshire is a 1793 comedy play by the Irish writer John O'Keeffe. It was staged at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket on 29 June 1793. The original cast included Richard Suett as Whimmy, James Aickin as Old Pranks, John Bannister as Young Pranks, Howard Usher as Barleycorn, Ralph Wewitzer as Barebones, John Henry Johnstone as Tully, William Parsons as Toby Thatch, Lydia Webb as Mrs. Maggs, Elizabeth Kemble as Kitty Barleycorn, Elizabeth Heard as Dian and Jane Powell as Fishwoman. The prologue was written by George Colman the Younger and spoken by William Barrymore. It was staged at the Crow Street Theatre in Dublin in 1795.
The London Merchant
Act I Sarah Millwood, a London prostitute, schemes to find some innocent young man "who, having never injured women, [would] apprehend no injury from them" (I.iii) to seduce and exploit for money. She observes young George Barnwell in town, and she invites him to her house for supper. She realizes that he works for the wealthy merchant Thorowgood (who is known throughout London for his wealth and success). She decides to seduce George Barnwell at supper with irresistible flattery, and he succumbs to her wiles in a way that will give her access to Thorowgood's money, and she manipulates Barnwell to steal from his boss. Act II Upon returning home the next morning, George feels he has betrayed Thorowgood by disobeying his curfew. The guilt he feels from disobeying the rules of the house, as well as the guilt he feels from his fornication with Millwood, leaves George tormented. His guilt is compounded by the loyalty of his friend Trueman. Soon, Millwood visits George at his place of work. When she discovers he no longer wants anything to do with her, she begins to sense her money-making scheme has come to an end. She quickly thinks of a lie to tell George to keep her plan going. She tells George that the man who provides her with housing somehow found out about their tryst and is now evicting her because of it. This evokes new feelings of guilt from George, and he is prompted to steal a large sum of money from his employer's funds to give to her to amend the situation. Act III After giving her the money, George feels unworthy of his kind master, Thorowgood, so he runs away and leaves a note for Trueman confessing his crime. Having no place to go, he turns to Millwood for help. At first she refuses him since his employer's money is no longer at his disposal, but she quickly remembers that he has previously mentioned a rich uncle. She again manipulates George into believing that she truly loves him, and concocts a scheme for him to rob his uncle. George objects, saying that his uncle will recognize him as his nephew; Millwood answers that the only way, then, will be to also murder his uncle. In a fit of passion, George runs off to commit the robbery and murder. He finds his Uncle Barnwell alone, and as he approaches, George veils his face and attacks his uncle with a knife. As he lies dying, Uncle Barnwell prays both for his nephew and his murderer, not knowing that they are the same. Overcome with sorrow, George reveals himself to his uncle, and before he dies, Uncle Barnwell forgives his murderous nephew. Act IV In the meantime, Lucy came to Thorowgood and revealed the truth behind what Barnwell had done. Because of this Thorowgood rushes to exit and tells Lucy she must keep watch on Millwood's house. Later, George returns to Millwood's home upset, trembling, and with bloody hands. Upon realizing that he did not take any money or property, Millwood sends for the police and has George arrested for murder. Two of Millwood's servants, Lucy and Blunt, who were aware of the plan from the beginning, have her arrested as well. Both George and Millwood are sentenced to death. In the last scene of Act 4 Millwood expresses to Thorowgood that she is not remorseful in the least bit saying, "I hate you all! I know you, and expect no mercy -- nay, I ask for none. I have done nothing that I am sorry for. I followed my inclinations, and that the best of you does every day. All actions are alike natural and indifferent to man and beast who devour or are devoured as they meet with others weaker or stronger than themselves." Act V Millwood blamed society and men for what she has become. She is not remorseful at all and with passion accepts her fate. Despite all that has transpired, George is visited by Thorowgood and Trueman in his prison cell. They console and forgive him. Thorowgood provides for his spiritual needs by arranging a visit from a clergyman. In the end, George is truly repentant for his sins and is at peace with himself, his friends, and God. Trueman ends the show with a small monologue saying, "In vain with bleeding hearts and weeping eyes we show a human gen'rous sense of others' woe, unless we mark what drew their ruin on, and, by avoiding that, prevent our own" (Act V Sc. X) to show that the play was to learn how to do the right things in our own lives.
The London Prodigal
Matthew Flowerdale, a prodigal merchant's son, gambles, lies and falls into debt. His father feigns death to observe him; after Matthew's marriage and continued wrongdoing, his loyal wife Luce eventually inspires his repentance.
The Lonei Household
Commission councillor Lonei is stern with his 21-year-old son Kurt, who feels treated like a child. When Kurt fails his school-leaving examination and a bill goes missing, father and son clash; Kurt's despair leads him to throw himself into a canal, where the lawyer Reinhard rescues him. They come to recognize their mistakes and reconcile, and Kurt later passes his examination with distinction. A parallel romance links Reinhard with Paulina, Lonei's ward.
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