In the 16th century, poet, playwright and part-time actor Miguel de Cervantes has been arrested, together with his manservant, by the Spanish Inquisition. They're accused of presenting an entertainment offensive to the Inquisition. Inside the huge dungeon into which they have been cast, the other inmates gang up on Cervantes and his manservant, staging a mock trial, with the intention of stealing or burning his possessions. Cervantes wishes to desperately save a manuscript he carries with him and stages, with costumes, makeup, and the participation of the other prisoners, an unusual defense—the story of Don Quixote.

Molière

2007

French

7.1

♡ 8

68%

Laurent Tirard Director

Ludivine Sagnier as Célimène

Marie Gili-Pierre as Geneviève

Éric Berger as Maître de peinture

Isabelle Vitari as Précieuse 1

Molière, a down-and-out actor-cum-playwright up to his ears in debt. When the wealthy Jourdain offers to cover that debt so that Molière's theatrical talents might help Jourdain win the heart of a certain widowed marquise, hilarity ensues.

The Forty-Year-Old Version

2020

English

7.2

♡ 11

99%

Radha Blank Director

Reed Birney as Josh Whitman

Haskiri Velazquez as Rosa

Doris McCarthy as Theater Patron

Antonio Ortiz as Waldo

Desperate for a breakthrough as she nears the big 4-0, struggling New York City playwright Radha finds inspiration by reinventing herself as a rapper.

Playhouse

2020

English

3.5

♡ 18

56%

Fionn Watts Director

Jim Page as Football Commentator

William Holstead as Jack Travis

Rebecca Calienda as Kathryn

Julie Higginson as Samantha

Reckless Jack Travis is an irreverent horror writer notorious for scaring audiences. But as he obsesses over creating a new theatre show set in a haunted Scottish castle, demonic disturbances from deep within the walls begin to prey on his troubled daughter. When the alarming supernatural forces start to close in on him too, Jack is forced to reckon with the terrifying consequences of creating such a dark and macabre play. But will he realise the danger of unearthing a historic curse and stop writing before he damns himself, his personal sanity and those he loves forever?

Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You

1970

English

4.4

♡ 4

Rod Amateau Director

Joyce Van Patten as Anna

Ian McShane as Fred C. Dobbs

Madeline Smith as Gwendolyn

Richard Harrison as Hero

An American playwright living in Rome consults a quack psychiatrist to combat his fears of balding and save his failing marriage.

23 Paces to Baker Street

1956

English

6.9

♡ 8

69%

Henry Hathaway Director

Estelle Winwood as Barmaid at The Eagle

Cecil Parker as Bob Matthews

Vera Miles as Jean Lennox

Queenie Leonard as Miss Elsie Schuyler

Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, attempt to track down the crooks.

Kagero-za

1981

Japanese

6.9

♡ 7

Action

based on novel or book

Seijun Suzuki Director

Mariko Kaga as Mio

Michiyo Yasuda as Shinako

Yoshio Harada as Wada

Hideko Okiyama as Woman in a bright colour kimono

A 1920s playwright meets a beautiful woman who may be the ghost of his patron's deceased wife.

Bells Are Ringing

1960

English

6.9

♡ 6

82%

Vincente Minnelli Director

John Indrisano as Bookie

Roy Jenson as Cop

Ruth Storey as Gwynne

Jean Stapleton as Sue

Ella Peterson works in the basement office of Susanswerphone, a telephone answering service. She listens in on others' lives and adds some interest to her own humdrum existence by adopting different identities for her clients. They include an out-of-work Method actor, a dentist with musical yearnings, and in particular playwright Jeffrey Moss, who is suffering from writer's block and desperately needs a muse.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

2002

English

6.1

♡ 9

43%

parent child relationship

playwright

secret society

Callie Khouri Director

Maggie Smith as Caro

Sandra Bullock as Sidda

Kiersten Warren as Younger Necie

Ashley Judd as Younger Vivi

A mother and daughter dispute is resolved by the "Yaya sisterhood" - long time friends of the mother.

Prick Up Your Ears

1987

English

7.1

♡ 14

92%

79%

Action

based on novel or book

Stephen Frears Director

Roger Lloyd Pack as Actor 2

John Salthouse as Chauffeur

Gary Oldman as Joe Orton

David Bradley as Undertaker

When the young, attractive Joe Orton meets the older, more introverted Kenneth Halliwell at drama school, he befriends the kindred spirit and they start an affair. As Orton becomes more comfortable with his sexuality and starts to find success with his writing, Halliwell becomes increasingly alienated and jealous, ultimately tapping into a dangerous rage.

Blithe Spirit

2020

English

5.5

♡ 40

28%

31%

Action

based on play or musical

Edward Hall Director

Colin Stinton as Cecil B DeMille

Dan Stevens as Charles Condomine

Leslie Mann as Elvira Condomine

Isla Fisher as Ruth Condomine

A spiritualist medium holds a seance for a writer suffering from writers block but accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife which leads to an increasingly complex love triangle with his current wife of five years.

Wet Woman in the Wind

2016

Japanese

5.7

♡ 24

83%

Akihiko Shiota Director

Tasuku Nagaoka as Kosuke Takasuke

Ryushin Tei as Kubouchi, Restaurant Owner

Yuki Mamiya as Shiori

Michiko Suzuki as Theatre Actress

Dissipated Tokyo playwright, Kosuke has retreated to the countryside after deciding that he's done with women, but the indefatigable cat-in-heat Shiori has other ideas, clinging to Kosuke like his shadow.

All About Eve

1950

English

8.2

♡ 64

99%

Joseph L. Mankiewicz Director

Walter Hampden as Aged Actor

Thelma Ritter as Birdie Coonan

Helen Mowery as Reporter

Ethelreda Leopold as Sarah Siddons Awards Guest

From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.

The King of Laughter

2021

Italian

7.0

♡ 1

75%

Mario Martone Director

Lucrezia Guidone as Irma Gramatica

Cristiana Dell'Anna as Luisa De Filippo

Maria Nazionale as Rosa De Filippo

Eduardo Scarpetta as Vincenzo Scarpetta

In early 20th-century Naples, a theatrical parody lands beloved thespian and playwright Eduardo Scarpetta in court, facing a malicious lawsuit that could compromise his freedom of expression and the economic security of his extended family—including his son's, young Eduardo De Filippo.

The Arbor

2010

English

7.3

♡ 1

96%

interracial relationship

playwright

prison

Clio Barnard Director

Matthew McNulty as Andrew Dunbar

Christine Bottomley as Lisa Thompson

Danny Webb as Max Stafford-Clark / The Father

Robert Emms as Young David

The lives of the late Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar and Lorraine, one of her daughters, and the community of Bradford, in the 30 years since the 18-year-old Andrea penned a play about growing up in the community titled "The Arbor".

Merrily We Go to Hell

1932

English

6.9

♡ 7

100%

Dorothy Arzner Director

Edwin Maxwell as Jake Symonds

Fredric March as Jerry Corbett

Sylvia Sidney as Joan Prentice

Bill Elliott as Party Guest

A drunken newspaperman, Jerry Corbett, is rescued from his alcoholic haze by an heiress, Joan Prentice, whose love sobers him up and encourages him to write a play, but he lapses back into dipsomania.

Julia

1977

English

7.0

♡ 9

73%

Fred Zinnemann Director

Meryl Streep as Anne Marie

Rosemary Murphy as Dottie

Maximilian Schell as Johann

John Glover as Sammy

At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.

Somewhere in Time

1980

English

7.2

♡ 50

52%

Jeannot Szwarc Director

John Alvin as Arthur's Father

Bruce Jarchow as Bones, in 1912

William H. Macy as Critic

Larry Coven as Critic

Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth century. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.

Forever Female

1953

English

6.5

♡ 4

21%

actress

Comedy

playwright

Irving Rapper Director

Kenneth Gibson as Diner at Sardi's

Paul Douglas as E. Harry Phillips

Maidie Norman as Emma - Beatrice's Maid

Vic Perrin as Scenic Designer

An aging actress has a hard time admitting she is too old to play the ingenue role anymore.

King Lear

1987

English

5.5

♡ 6

67%

post-apocalyptic future

postmodernism

Sci-Fi

Jean-Luc Godard Director

Molly Ringwald as Cordelia

Woody Allen as Mr. Alien

Jean-Luc Godard as Professor Pluggy

Julie Delpy as Virginia

A descendant of Shakespeare tries to restore his plays in a world rebuilding itself after the Chernobyl catastrophe obliterates most of human civilization.

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Man of La Mancha

Molière

The Forty-Year-Old Version

Playhouse

Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You

23 Paces to Baker Street

Kagero-za

Bells Are Ringing

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Prick Up Your Ears

Blithe Spirit

Wet Woman in the Wind

All About Eve

The King of Laughter

The Arbor

Merrily We Go to Hell

Julia

Somewhere in Time

Forever Female

King Lear