The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word THEATRE-GOER
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
T
H
E
A
T
R
E
-
G
O
E
R
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Other great plays gripping one, ultimately" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case other great plays gripping one, ultimately = theatre-goer.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.