Aauditionscenes

Playwrights

Every major playwright from the Greeks to the present day, grouped by period. Names in darker type have monologues and scenes in the library — the number beside each one says how many.

86 of 210 playwrights covered · 534 scenes

Greek & Roman

The oldest surviving dramatic writing, and still the backbone of classical audition speeches.

5/8 covered

Elizabethan & Jacobean

Shakespeare and his contemporaries — the verse repertoire most drama schools ask for.

6/11 covered

Restoration & 18th Century

Comedy of manners: sharp, spoken, and a common second classical choice.

3/9 covered

19th Century

The birth of modern naturalism, from Ibsen and Chekhov to Wilde and Shaw.

9/16 covered

Early 20th Century

Between the wars — Irish revival, European modernism and the well-made play.

6/18 covered

Mid 20th Century

Post-war drama: the Angry Young Men, absurdism and the American giants.

12/28 covered

Contemporary British & Irish

The living repertoire most often set for contemporary audition speeches.

20/54 covered

Contemporary American

Pulitzer-era American writing, widely used for contemporary monologues.

21/44 covered

International

African, Australian, Canadian and European writers in translation and in English.

4/22 covered

  • Joanna Murray-Smith9
  • Florian Zeller4
  • Louis Nowra2
  • Hannie Rayson1
  • Athol Fugard
  • Wole Soyinka
  • Derek Walcott
  • David Williamson
  • Michel Tremblay
  • Daniel MacIvor
  • Ann-Marie MacDonald
  • Judith Thompson
  • Yasmina Reza
  • Bernard-Marie Koltes
  • Thomas Bernhard
  • Elfriede Jelinek
  • Roland Schimmelpfennig
  • Marius von Mayenburg
  • Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt
  • Jon Fosse
  • Peter Handke
  • Nassim Soleimanpour

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