An anti-war play is a play that is perceived as having an

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to p ...

theme. Some plays that are thought of as anti-war plays are: *''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

'' (421 BCE) - by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

*''

The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' ( grc, Τρῳάδες, translit=Trōiades), also translated as ''The Women of Troy'', and also known by its transliterated Greek title ''Troades'', is a tragedy by the Greek playwright Euripides. Produced in 415 BC duri ...

'' (415 BCE) -

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

*''

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', "Army Disbander") is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's extraordinary mission to end the Peloponne ...

'' (411 BCE) -

*'' Journey's End'' (1928) -

R. C. Sherriff Robert Cedric Sherriff, FSA, FRSL (6 June 1896 – 13 November 1975) was an English writer best known for his play ''Journey's End'', which was based on his experiences as an army officer in the First World War. He wrote several plays, many nove ...

* '' The Silver Tassie'' (1929) -

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ga, Seán Ó Cathasaigh ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. ...

* ''The Rumour'' by C.K.Munro 1929 at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

produced by Hilda Dallas *''

Post-Mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any d ...

'' (1930) -

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and ...

*'' For Services Rendered'' (1932) - Somerset Maugham *'' The Trojan War Will Not Take Place'' (1935) -

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His ...

*''

Bury the Dead ''Bury the Dead'' (1936) is an expressionist and anti-war drama by the American playwright Irwin Shaw. It dramatizes the refusal of six dead soldiers during an unspecified war—who represent a cross-section of American society—to be buried. Eac ...

'' (1936) -

Irwin Shaw Irwin Shaw (February 27, 1913 – May 16, 1984) was an American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best known for two of his novels: '' The Young Lions'' ...

*'' Idiot's Delight'' (1936) - Robert E. Sherwood *''

Hooray for What! ''Hooray for What!'' is an anti-warConnema, Richar''Hooray for What!'' is a Hilarious Send-up of America Talkin' Broadway Regional News & reviews: San Francisco, undated but presumably November 2004 when 42nd Street Moon Productions performed the ...

'' (1937) *''

The White Disease ''The White Plague'' ( cz, Bílá nemoc) is a play written by Czech novelist Karel Čapek in 1937. Written at a time of increasing threat from Nazi Germany to Czechoslovakia, it portrays a human response to a tense, prewar situation in an unnam ...

'' (1937) -

Karel Čapek Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He has become best known for his science fiction, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal ...

*'' The Mother (1938) - Karel Čapek *''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrical ...

'' (1939) -

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

*''

Schweik in the Second World War ''Schweyk in the Second World War'' (''Schweyk im Zweiten Weltkrieg'') is a play by German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht. It was written by Brecht in 1943 while in exile in California, and is a sequel to the 1923 novel ''The Good Soldier Šve ...

'' (1943) - Bertolt Brecht *''

Nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The ...

'' (1944) -

Nurul Momen Nurul Momen (25 November 1908 – 16 February 1990) was a Bangladeshi playwright, educator, director, broadcast personality, academician, satirist, essayist, translator and poet.Bangla Natyashahitter Itihash, the most authoritative reference boo ...

*''

All My Sons ''All My Sons'' is a three-act Play (theatre), play written in 1946 by Arthur Miller. It opened on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Coronet Theatre in New York City on January 29, 1947, closed on November 8, 1949, and r ...

'' (1947) -

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

*'' Andha Yug'' (1954) -

Dharamvir Bharati Dharamvir Bharati (25 December 1926 – 4 September 1997) was a renowned Hindi poet, author, playwright and a social thinker of India. He was the chief editor of the popular Hindi weekly magazine '' Dharmayug'', from 1960 till 1987.The Illustr ...

*'' The Hostage'' (1958) -

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English and ...

*''

Oh, What a Lovely War! ''Oh, What a Lovely War!'' is an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble at the Theatre Workshop in 1963. It is a satire on World War I, and by extension on war in general. The title is derived from the "somewhat satirical ...

'' (1961) - Charles Chilton *'' US'' (1966) - collaboration *''

Viet Rock ''Viet Rock'' is a rock musical by Megan Terry that served as inspiration to the musical ''Hair''. A violent denunciation of the American involvement in the Vietnam War, the play was described by its author as a "folk war movie" comprising scenes ...

'' (1966) -

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and con ...

Megan Terry Megan Terry (born July 22, 1932) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and theatre artist. She has produced over fifty works for theater, radio, and television, and is best known for her avant-garde theatrical work from the 1960s. As a found ...

*'' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical'' (1967) - Book and Lyrics by

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

and

James Rado James Alexander Radomski (January 23, 1932 – June 21, 2022), known professionally as James Rado, was an American actor, playwright, director, and composer, best known as the co-author, along with Gerome Ragni, of the 1967 musical ''Hair''. He ...

, music by

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most-successful musicals were '' Ha ...

* ''

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

'' (1968) - Terrence McNally *'' Bringing It All Back Home'' (1969) - Terrence McNally *'' The Watering Place'' (1969) -

Lyle Kessler Lyle Kessler is an American playwright, screenwriter and actor, best known internationally for his 1983 play '' Orphans''. Career Actor Born in Philadelphia, Kessler began his career as an actor. His first professional appearance was in the Ph ...

*''

The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail ''The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail'' is a two-act American play by Robert E. Lee and Jerome Lawrence written in 1969. The play is based on the early life of the title character, Henry David Thoreau, leading up to his night spent in a jail in Conc ...

'' (1969) -

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

Jerome Lawrence Jerome Lawrence (born Jerome Lawrence Schwartz; July 14, 1915 – February 29, 2004) was an American playwright and author. After graduating from the Ohio State University in 1937 and the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939, Lawrence pa ...

*'' G. R. Point'' (1977) - David Berry *'' Wilhelm Reich in Hell'' (1987) -

Robert Anton Wilson Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilso ...

*''

No-No Boy ''No-No Boy'' is a 1957 novel, and the only novel published by the Japanese American writer John Okada. It tells the story of a Japanese-American in the aftermath of the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Set in Seattle, Wash ...

'' (2010) -

Ken Narasaki Ken Narasaki (born April 4, 1958) is an American playwright and actor. He is the former Literary Manager at East West Players theatre company in Los Angeles. He is the twin brother of civil rights leader Karen Narasaki. Actor Narasaki has appea ...

See also