Episode 101: The 101 Greatest Plays

Host: Douglas Schatz Guests: Michael Billington              Mark Lawson

Welcome to The Play Podcast where we explore the greatest new and classic plays. Each episode we choose a single play to talk about in depth with our expert guest. We’ll discuss the play’s origins, its themes, characters, structure and impact. For us the play is the thing.

In 2015 the esteemed theatre critic, Michael Billington, published The 101 Greatest Plays – From Antiquity to the Present. Michael wrote that his selection was intended as a “provocation”, a “prelude to debate”. Ten years on I invited Michael and the arts journalist, Mark Lawson, to join me to review and debate his criteria and selection.

During our discussion we not only wrangled over specific inclusions and exclusions in Michael’s list, including most controversially his omission of both King Lear and Waiting for Godot, we also addressed more general questions about the criteria for selection, what elements make a great play, and what makes a play more likely to endure beyond its own time. Join us in the debate!