Here's how contributing writer Ruth Leon describes the life of a drama critic in London: "It's rather like being a wine writer living in Bordeaux," she says. "The great vintages are all around us, essentially to be found in two concentric circles-- the heavily state-funded National and Royal Shakespeare companies and the commercial West End, where you can, in Arthur Miller's famous definition of Broadway, 'make a killing but not a living.'"

I asked Ruth what this summer's London visitors ought to consider as they make plans to attend the theater. Here is her report:

London is now at the end of perhaps the greatest generation of classical actors (Gielgud, Olivier, Guinness, Redgrave) that the world has ever known, but the English can still field a strong team of Shakespearians such as Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi. Not to mention such great Dames as Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, who were only recently on stage together in a new play written especially for them by David Hare. Both of our senior classical Dames are getting more television and film work than ever before. While Dame Maggie has the Harry Potter movies to take care of her pension, Dame Judi has seen herself nicely settled in the new James Bond sequence as the first-ever, female super-spy "M."

Lesser British players have also found a useful double life by taking short-term leave of the stage to turn up on the wide screen, usually cast as gay or barking mad villains, sometimes both: In an era of political correctness, where it is no longer possible to cast Japanese or German players in these roles, for some reason audiences worldwide are perfectly happy to accept stage Brits in these roles. Indeed Sir Anthony Hopkins fled Olivier's National Theatre company 20 years ago to settle in the Hollywood Hills. In New York recently he spotted Derek Jacobi walking down a Broadway side street.

"Hello, Jacobi," he hailed his fellow thespian, "still shouting at night?" cleverly capturing what separates a stage actor from a screen actor.

Even so, if you're planning a spring holiday in London for the purposes of star spotting, you'll not be disappointed. Corin Redgrave and Eileen Atkins are in "Honour," a new Australian drama at the National, while Ian McKellen brings his Broadway- triumphant "Dance of Death" into the West End, though sadly without Helen Mirren.

The National has Janet McTeer, who won a Tony for her "Doll's House" on Broadway, in "The Duchess of Malfi." Also coming to the National is Joseph Fiennes (of "Shakespeare in Love") in Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost." Japan's most acclaimed director Ninagawa presents his take on "Pericles." There's also a revival of Tom Stoppard's word feast, "Jumpers," starring the can't-miss Simon Russell Beale.

Dario Fo's absurdist classic, "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" is part of Michael Grandage's first season as artistic director at the prestigious Donmar Warehouse. If you fancy something lighter, there are endless musicals, both new--"Jerry Springer, the Opera"--and old--"Funny Girl" starring Britain's answer to Bernadette Peters, Maria Friedman. Oh, there's also one that is new but looks old-- "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," a huge hit hated by the London critics but loved by the families who pack every performance.

Trevor Nunn's farewell to his tenure as artistic director of the National includes a good-natured "Anything Goes." Cole Porter's greatest score is surprisingly well sung by an all-Brit cast, and although you might miss a tad of the energy that Broadway dancers bring to a big musical, the London cast, starring John Barrowman and Sally Ann Triplett, is excellent.

The West End is awash with musicals based on much-loved retro music. The all-ABBA-all-the-time "Mamma Mia" is the prototype, of course, but hardly the only one. "Sing-A-Long- A-ABBA" plows the same furrow at the Whitehall, giving the audience a chance to join in with lyrics on a screen, sort of mass karaoke. At the Dominion, probably for the rest of our lives, is "We Will Rock You," Queen's music with a futuristic plot about a world where music is banned. "Taboo" pays tribute to Boy George (with Boy George himself in the lead), while "Our House" does the same for the songs of Madness.

If you couldn't get tickets in New York, there are several Broadway hits still running in the West End--Susan Stroman's "Contact," for instance, and "The Lion King," as well as the perennial "Les Miserables."

True, the queue of American stars heading toward the West End in the wake of Gwyneth Paltrow and Kevin Spacey seems to be diminishing. But that could be because theaters have learned the costs of a star's entourage, hotel suite, and Concorde tickets can't always be covered by the star's name alone. You also need a good director, a good script, and some rave reviews to have a London stage hit, especially once the novelty of seeing a star "in the flesh" has worn off.

(Much to the amusement of London audiences, Madonna demanded to have security men with walkie-talkie headsets prowling the aisles. Contrary to backstage rumor, they weren't there to keep us drama critics from getting our hands on her and what she was doing to a play about the sex lives of art dealers.)

The more cynical producers have had a field day with "This Is Our Youth" by serially filling the cast list with the relatives of American stars, including Macaulay Culkins' brother, Tom Hanks' son, and River Phoenix's sister. And although Spacey and Paltrow were magnificent, others, notably Gillian Anderson and Madonna and the "Youth" gang, have not been, so we're less interested than we were in star presence.

But Ralph Fiennes should be enough for any autograph hunter. His clear preference for the stage over the movies, not to mention a private life that anchors him in London, assures that most nights he'll be on a stage and the queue at the stage door will almost equal the queue at the box office. This season, as soon as he finishes his current stint as Karl Gustav Jung in "The Talking Cure," Fiennes goes into one of Ibsen's most difficult plays, "Brand," in the farewell production of the current artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

At a time of unique millennial change, virtually every theater in the land is rebuilding or recasting backstage with new directors and administrators. That means that these hand- over seasons tend to play it safe. But that should not deter a stage-struck tourist who is organized, understands the ticket- buying system, and loves the London theater enough to put up with the traffic, the inconvenience, and the transportation difficulties. When it comes to purchasing tickets, try to avoid paying a fee by buying over the phone or via the Internet unless a show is sold out or you need your tickets months in advance. Better ideas: Go to the theater box office or visit the discount-ticket booth at Leicester Square (the tkts outlet run by the Society of London Theatre adjacent to the Odeon West Cinema; www.tkts.co.uk). Web sites such as www.londontheatredirect.com are great for checking out what's on before you get on the plane, however.

For ease in accessing the theater district, consider hotels in the Covent Garden neighborhood so you can walk to shows. Even the National is only a brisk walk over Waterloo Bridge, and the view is wonderful. My advice is to dine before the performance.

Hot Tickets

For information on shows, ticket prices, and seating charts for the 2003 Festival Season at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RSC) at Stratford-upon-Avon (including the Swan Theatre) click on www.rsc.org.uk. The summer schedule includes:

- "The Taming of the Shrew," directed by Gregory Doran

- "Measure for Measure," directed by Sean Holmes

- "Richard III," directed by Sean Holmes

- "Titus Andronicus," directed by Bill Alexander

At the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon:
- Shakespeare's "As You Like It," directed by Gregory Thompson

- "The Tamer Tamed" by John Fletcher, directed by Gregory Doran

- "Brand" by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Adrian Noble

- Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," directed by Dominic Cooke

Season highlights:
- Henry Goodman, Emma Fielding, Jasper Britton, and Alexandra Gilbreath lead a company of actors in the Swan and Royal Shakespeare

- Adrian Noble's final production as RSC artistic director-- Ibsen's "Brand" with Ralph Fiennes--performs at the Swan Theatre prior to a limited run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.

February 2003