West End Plays

As if to prove the wide variety that straight theatre can offer, the two best productions of the year could hardly have been further apart.

Anthony Page's revival of Long Day's Journey into Night confirms, if it is necessary, that Eugene O'Neill, who enjoyed great popularity in London during 2012, is at the very least one of the greatest American playwrights. Indeed, those that remember Arthur Miller's years in the doldrums might well put O'Neill at the top of the list.

David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf, from opposite sides of the Atlantic, made this into a searing exploration of a dysfunctional family.

In a completely different way, the first play to be produced by the new Michael Grandage Company, Peter Nichols's Privates on Parade, was equally intoxicating.

Simon Russell Beale, in a very different role from his Timon of Athens at the National, gave a glorious performance as a cross-dressing army officer in Malaya, while the camp song and dance of the show made it into a sure-fire hit.

Alan Bennett has become a national institution and while those that saw it regarded Nigel Hawthorne's performance as George III in The Madness of George III as definitive, David Haig certainly put up some stiff competition in Christopher Luscombe's transfer from Bath.

The Globe made a rare venture into the West End, allowing some of its productions to play during the winter. The chosen works both featured Mark Rylance, repeating his performances as a totally winning Olivia in Twelfth Night, opposite Stephen Fry's Malvolio, and Richard III.

Proving that serendipity does happen, two Uncle Vanyas open either side of a weekend. The higher profile but very traditional, British version directed by Lindsay Posner featured strong performances from Ken Stott and Anna Friel, while its Russian counterpart from Moscow's Vakhtangov company took theatrical experimentation to the limits.

In star vehicle terms, they do not come a lot bigger than Danny DeVito despite his physical dimensions. He was drafted in alongside Richard Griffiths to pep up a revival of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys, which had its comic moments but is unlikely to be remembered as much as one might have expected given the performers.

In this era when revivals are almost de rigueur, it was pleasing to see a West End season of transfers from the Royal Court, showcasing three of their best recent works, Posh by Laura Wade, Jumpy by April De Angelis and Constellations by Nick Payne.

Another new work that deserved to last for longer than a limited run was the stage version of The King's Speech. With excellent performances from Charles Edwards as Bertie and Jonathan Hyde as his Australian speech therapist, this felt like a very strong work that should have been bolstered by the selling power of the movie.

West End audiences always love comedies and four more appeared to tickle the taste buds of devotees of relatively light entertainment.

Sir Alan Ayckbourn's A Chorus of Disapproval will be best remembered for Rob Brydon's assured West End debut. The same playwright's Absent Friends was a better all-round revival under the direction of Jeremy Herrin and featured another TV favourite, Reece Shearsmith at the head of a strong cast also included Kara Tointon, Katherine Parkinson and Steffan Rhodri.

It seems impossible to imagine a year without a new production of a Noël Coward classic and in 2012, it was Hay Fever's turn, directed in a rather eccentric version by Howard Davies and starring Lindsay Duncan, appropriately in the Noël Coward Theatre.

Similarly, Joe Orton tends to be the go-to man when producers want a safe little earner. What the Butler Saw, directed by Sean Foley featured another West End debutant, Omad Djalili, playing with the much more experienced Samantha Bond and Tim McInerney.

An unusual but rather pleasing pairing to transfer from Chichester featured David Hare's South Downs and Terence Rattigan's The Browning Version, allowing Nicholas Farrell and Anna Chancellor to demonstrate their talents alongside highly talented newcomer Alex Lawther.

A circular tent in the middle of Kensington Gardens may not quite count as West End but the quality of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis, adapted for the stage by Rupert Goold, makes this the perfect place to comment on it.

The onstage magic was perfectly serviceable but this was incomparably enhanced by 360° computer-generated graphics courtesy of Chris Randall. As such, it became a cross between a stage play, an animated movie and (almost) a computer game.