TheatreBookshop.net is a free online library of public-domain plays, created for anyone who loves theatre, storytelling, and the strange magic that happens when words are meant to be spoken out loud.

My name is Will Ellington, and I’ve been a theatre fan for as long as I can remember. I’ve spent years reading plays, famous ones, forgotten ones, strange ones, beautiful ones, and I kept noticing how many remarkable works from the past have quietly disappeared simply because they’re hard to find. Not because they aren’t good, but because they aren’t convenient.

This site is my attempt to change that.

Every play here is in the public domain, which means it’s free to read, free to perform, and free to share. My goal is to build a simple, welcoming library where students, actors, directors, writers, and curious readers can discover old plays without paywalls or permissions, just the text, ready to be read and brought back to life.

Some of these works were once famous. Others were always obscure. But all of them were written to be spoken, argued over, staged, and felt. I hope this site helps a new generation of readers and theatre-makers find something that surprises them, moves them, or inspires them to put on a play of their own. Cheers!

— Will Ellington