Albert Camus completed and published the play Caligula in May 1944 through Éditions Gallimard. The work emerged from drafts written between 1938 and 1944 during a period of political turmoil.
Gérard Philipe took the title role when the play opened on the 26th of September 1945 at the Théâtre Hébertot in Paris. Michel Bouquet and Georges Vitaly joined him in the principal cast under director Paul Oettly.
Camus placed Caligula within his Cycle of the Absurd alongside The Stranger and The Myth of Sisyphus. He explicitly denied that the work belonged to existentialist philosophy despite many critics claiming otherwise.
The final version of the play consists of four acts while an earlier three-act draft from 1941 exists and was re-published in 1984. Changes between these versions reveal the impact of World War II on Camus's thinking and incorporate more complex political commentary.
A German-language opera based on the play premiered in 2006 with music by Glanert. Critical reception has varied over decades but consistently acknowledges the work's philosophical depth.