MANILA, Philippines?On our recent trip to England, we were impressed by the number of film and TV celebrities who found time to indulge in their love for the legitimate stage at London?s West End.

For almost a month, we spent our free time watching more than 20 diverse shows.

We rushed to the preview of Yasmina Reza?s ?God of Carnage? because it topbilled Ralph Fiennes and Janet McTeer?in a comedy! The fun but intelligent play examines what happens when two parents meet up to deal with their unruly children, and features Fiennes in a refreshingly bright and breezy performance.

Contrasting styles

Another big winner in our book is Nicholas Hytner and Alan Bennett?s ?The History Boys,? which follows a group of history students in a fictional boys? grammar school in England, as they prepare for the Oxbridge entrance examinations under the guidance of three teachers with contrasting styles. Promising newcomers, Ben Barnes (?The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Prince Caspian?) and Dominic Cooper (?Mamma Mia!?), are among the play?s alumni.

The twin-bill staging of Harold Pinter?s ?The Lover? and ?The Collection? deftly fuse elements of sex and wicked comedy. Its cast includes Richard Coyle and Hollywood heartthrob, Charlie Cox?who starred opposite Claire Danes and Robert De Niro in last year?s engaging fantasy feature, ?Stardust.?

We also caught Jeremy Irons? highly acclaimed return to the London stage in Howard Brenton?s ?Never So Good,? in which he portrays former British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The veteran actor was onstage most of the time, but he made the tought task look easy!

Gay life in the ?50s

At the Old Vic, Kevin Spacey and Jeff Goldblum attracted appreciative crowds in the restaging of David Mamet?s dazzling show biz satire, ?Speed-the-Plow,? while Nicholas de Jongh?s ?Plague Over England,? starring Jasper Britton as John Gielgud. The play is set in 1953, when the then newly knighted actor was caught ?cottaging? in a public lavatory. The latter production provides a fascinating look at gay life in the ?50s.

Popular TV star, Leonard Roberts (?Heroes?), was also in London to topbill Daniel Joshua Rubin?s prison drama, ?The Viewing Room,? while the charismatic Danny Dyer led a great cast in Harold Pinter?s domestic drama, ?The Homecoming.?

More than Ciaran McConville?s touchy drama, ?Snowbound,? we were thrilled to see Kenneth Branagh at the lobby during the play?s intermission!

At Rada, we watched the featured plays for the famed drama school?s fall season, like David Mamet?s ?Prairie Du Chien? and Samuel Beckett?s ?Catastrophe? and ?All That Fall.?
One-woman show

We were sorry to leave London before some highly anticipated shows could open, like Joan Didion?s ?The Year of Magical Thinking,? Vanessa Redgrave?s acclaimed one-woman show; Yukio Mishima?s ?Madame de Sade,? starring Judy Dench; Shakespeare?s ?Twelfth Night? (with Branagh) and ?Hamlet? (with Jude Law), and the ?Gone With The Wind? musical.

At the National Theatre, we watched the riveting contemporary plays of Roy Williams (?Baby Girl?) and Dennis Kelly (?DNA?), where we ran into American actor, John Heard, who shared with us that he once auditioned for the role of the Engineer in ?Miss Saigon?!