5 best plays of 2014
From Mike Bartlett's crafty conjecture about a constitutional crisis to a shaming account of the miserable existence of those on zero-hours contracts, Dominic Cavendish chooses his five best plays of 2014


Play of the year: King Charles III by Mike Bartlett Photo: Alastair Muir
By Dominic Cavendish11:00AM GMT 18 Dec 2014 CommentsComment
1. King Charles III, Almeida Theatre

Director Rupert Goold’s new regime in Islington got off to a blazing start with Mike Bartlett’s crafty conjecture about the sort of constitutional crisis that might ensue should Prince Charles carry on in the same outspoken vein after he is crowned.
Read Dominic Cavendish's review

2. The James Plays, National Theatre/National Theatre of Scotland


It was a crying shame that this eye-opening trilogy of new history plays, forming a warts and all portrait of Scotland during a crucial formative period, didn’t have a longer run. With Scottish national politics an ongoing major concern, though, Rona Munro’s finest achievement to date should have ample currency going forward.
Read Dominic Cavendish's review

3. The Crucible, Old Vic


South African director Yael Farber added further lustre to the glowing reputation of the Old Vic in the last year of Kevin Spacey’s tenureship with this powerfully charged reading of Arthur Miller’s portrait of a community riven by the hysteria of a witch-hunt, which starred Richard Armitage as the fiercely resilient hero John Proctor.
Read Charles Spencer's review

Stephen Collins Reviews The Best Of 2014

by Stephen Collins on 23 December 2014 in News, Off West End, Reviews, West End

Best performance by a male in a play

Richard Armitage’s John Proctor in The Crucible at the Old Vic was an astonishing achievement by any measure, not the least because it was so unexpected. There were many other marvellous performances by men this year, some in large parts, some in small, but Armitage’s Proctor was mesmerising, utterly believable and thoroughly compelling. And it has stayed with me, in a way that others have not. At his most convincing in the silences, the haunted looks and profound incomprehension of the fanatical lunacy around him, Armitage also managed the howls of outrage that mark out Proctor as an extraordinary man. A shattering portrait of pain and guilt.

West End Producer: A theatrical look back at 2014, dear

Everyone's favourite masked producer takes a look back over a very busy year for London theatre

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My play highlights for the year were The Crucible – with excellent Richard Armitage giving what must be arguably one of the finest stage performances of 2014, closely followed by Gillian Anderson in A Streetcar Named Desire. But my favourite by far was King Charles III – a brilliant play about a future where Prince Charles is on the throne. Fabulous performances all round, with hardly a moment of gurning in sight.

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