Primary sources
Play texts
A play text is the written script of a play, as first published, including stage directions, and as intended for performance.
This resource contains the digital full text of more than 1,700 plays written from the mid-1800s to the present by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. Many of the works are rare, hard to find, or out of print. An Alexander Street subscription resource.
Online texts of plays and critical works published by Bloomsbury, Methuen, Faber & Faber, Arden, Nick Hern and Playwrights Canada Press. The Library’s subscription covers the majority of titles offered by this resource. Individual titles covered by the subscription can also be found using Library Search.
A global collection of plays featuring new work from established and up-and-coming contemporary playwrights, including recently produced world premieres and previously unpublished works from every continent. The collection is still being compiled but when completed will include 1,000 contemporary plays, from 2000 to present day.