Classic Plays

These classic plays invite your students into legendary stories and timeless questions while keeping everything accessible for a modern high school stage. Each script reimagines myth, Shakespeare, or familiar archetypes so teen actors can step inside the canon, not just study it from a desk.

7 scripts
Gawain and the Green Knight

26 actors (any gender). Sir Gawain takes up a strange yuletide challenge—and steps into a world of magic, danger, and moral reckoning. A charming take on the medieval legend.

$150.00
The Long Leather Bag

4f, 14x. A clever girl faces magic, danger, and a not-so-nice family to outwit a wicked wizard. A spirited retelling of a classic Irish folk tale.

$150.00
Stage Fight

5m, 4f, 2x. By day, he teaches history. By night, he’s a wannabe wrestler. When he’s forced to direct Peter Pan, things get...aggressively theatrical.

$150.00
To Thine Own Self Be True

5m, 10f, 1x. Senior year gets weird when Henry’s life starts mirroring Hamlet. Ghosts, grief, and Shakespearean angst haunt this sharp, heartfelt dramedy.

$150.00
Gilgamesh

5m, 5f, 10x. A legendary king battles beasts and defies gods—but can’t outrun death. An epic tale of friendship, power, and what it means to be human.

$150.00
Mick and Beth Rule the School

8m, 7f, 5x. High school, 1989: Mick wants to be president. Beth has a plan. Add some goth witches, and POOF! Let the scheming begin. A wickedly funny Macbeth remix.

$150.00
Victory

6m, 3f, 1x. From lacrosse hero to class president contender, Martin is trapped by the spotlight. A high school sports tragedy about fame, expectations, and losing yourself.

$150.00

Why classic stories still land with teens

Classic plays for high school work best when they feel alive, not distant. This collection focuses on adaptations and remixes that honour the original spirit while speaking in a voice your students recognise. Characters wrestle with power, loyalty, and identity in ways that echo what teens face now.

These scripts also serve your curriculum. Literature and mythology move from page to stage, giving English and history classes a concrete reference point. Experiencing the dramatic soliloquies and iconic journeys lets students see why these stories have stuck around. They get to fight their own battles of conscience and truly live the story. 

Rehearsal rooms become spaces where students can question the text, propose bold staging… and even test new, different interpretations. Instead of treating classics as fixed, they learn to treat them as invitations to think, respond, and create – to live the story and make it their own.

Classic plays in this collection

Adaptations like Gawain and the Green Knight and The Long Leather Bag bring medieval legend and folk tale to life with strong roles for brave but imperfect heroes. Large ensembles can fill a royal hall or a wizard’s lair while still keeping the focus on clear storytelling and moral choice.

For groups who love seeing school life collide with canon, Stage Fight and To Thine Own Self Be True place classic texts inside contemporary corridors. One follows a teacher who moonlights as a wrestler while trying to direct Peter Pan. The other tracks a student whose senior year starts to echo Hamlet, giving performers a way into Shakespeare through hallway drama and haunted friendships.

Epic storytelling comes through Gilgamesh, which lets students inhabit one of the earliest recorded tales of friendship and mortality. If you want something with sharper comedy, Mick and Beth Rule the School spins Macbeth into late eighties student government, complete with goth witches and election chaos.

Sports and fame get a tragic frame in Victory, where a star athlete and would be leader finds himself crushed beneath expectation. It is a powerful entry point into conversations about public image, pressure, and the cost of winning at any price.

Bringing classic plays to your stage

Although these scripts draw on big source material, they are written with real school resources in mind. Many settings can be suggested with platforms, banners, or rehearsal blocks, which keeps builds manageable while lighting and sound supply atmosphere.

Cast sizes range from flexible ensembles to very large companies with optional extras. That means you can use classic plays to showcase an entire department or to concentrate on one intense, committed group. Licensing remains straightforward across the Gitelman and Good catalog, with digital scripts your students can annotate as they discover that classic theatre can feel urgent, funny, and deeply current.