Cast Felicity Kendal and Matthew Kelly together, add a Neopolitan comedy of manners and an enthusiastic and energetic supporting cast and you’ve got Filumena – a show that’s a considerable step up from your average regional production, touring to five theatres until the end of November.
The script is translated from Eduardo de Filippo’s original Italian by Willis Hall and colleague Keith Waterhouse, responsible for West End hit show Billy Liar as well as earlier beloved TV versions of Worzel Gummidge and the seminal On Newspaper Style guide, once the in-house reference tool for all Daily Mirror journalists. As you’d therefore expect, it’s full of colloquial word play, twists, turns and mood swings – with some major plot twists along the way.
Filumena (Kendal’s character) was brought out of the Neopolitan brothels by Don Domenico Soriano (Kelly) and installed in his home, running his domestic affairs for 35 years while Don Domenico ran round the world with his string of horses and other companions.
The play centres on a conundrum: are the couple officially married, or not? Is Don Domenico free to marry his very much younger lover or has Filumena successfully tricked him into a legally binding arrangement, securing a future for her and . . . her sons (of whom much more in the second half).
The dialogue is demanding, with both Kendal and Kelly ably rising to the challenge, moving the narrative along apace, or providing valuable context to explain the characters’ motivations.
There are the inklings of some superb comedy moments (Kelly trying to get on his knees – a fabulous moment) and occasional pathos (Kendal recalling her early childhood). It’s very much an Italian cultural comedy of manners, with director Sean Mathias ensuring the cast throws in multiple hand gestures and affectations in pronunciation to make sure you don’t forget its provenance.
Sarah Twomey, last seen at the Theatre Royal, Windsor in the very different Accolade has excellent comedy timing as Lucia, the couple’s maid, as does Ben Nealon, as Nocella, the lawyer brought in to pour (olive?) oil on the troubled waters.
This latest production to open at the Theatre Royal, Windsor, is very much a cut above your average regional production, thanks to its excellent cast, with Kelly cutting an avuncular figure contrasting with Kendal’s fiery yet fragile Filumena.
With audible gasps from the opening night audience at the plot’s many twists and turns, grab the chance to see this Neapolitan delight when it arrives at a theatre near you.
Filumena is at Windsor until 19th, with an Audio Described performance on October 17 (2.30pm).
Then touring:
Tue 22 – Sat 26 Oct Yvonne Arnaud, yvonne-arnaud.co.uk
Tue 5 – Sat 9 Nov Cambridge Arts Theatre, cambridgeartstheatre.com
Tue 12 – Sat 16 Nov Theatre Royal Bath, theatreroyal.org.uk
Tue 19- Sat 23 Nov Richmond Theatre atgticket.com/Richmond
Photo credit: Jack Merriman
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