FILUMENA - UK TOUR - REVIEW

Last Night, I was invited to review a performance of the touring production of ‘Filumena’ at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford and In this review I am going to outline my own thoughts and feelings about this play.

Filumena is a 1946 play written by Eduardo De Filippo where amidst the Neapolitan heat, Filumena (Felicity Kendal) marries Domenico (Matthew Kelly) after being his mistress for over 35 years. This classic Italian comedy then goes through the struggles of the pair, and what happens when we find out that Filumena has 3 sons.. And one of them belongs to Domenico…

Unfortunately, In my opinion, the play just was not paced correctly for a modern audience. It was written in 1946, so this is no surprise… but no matter what the actors did, it felt as though it could’ve been a little quicker and more concise. That being said, the comedy elements still hit really well, so the only thing that has aged with this play is its concept of time and pace. 

The set design is always something I look at greatly whenever visiting a production, and last night’s design was stunning! Morgan Large did a beautiful job of creating this lavish house that clearly showed Domenico’s wealth and created a brilliant playing space for all of Filippo’s eccentric characters to perform their drama!

There were a number of standout performances for me during ‘Filumena’.

It comes as no surprise that Felicity Kendal is outstanding in the title role, I knew that I'd be writing that before the curtain had risen. Kendal is no stranger to the British stage, or a leading role and she has a certain presence that can only be delivered with her experience and class. She brought elegance, grace and fiery power to the role of ‘Filumena’ and gave us a real sense of her struggles but also that she is a very strong woman! Felicity Kendal is on all of the posters and programmes, and she deserves it, for the pure truth given through her performance.

Matthew Kelly plays alongside Kendal as her lover - Domenico. The play started with Kelly’s character getting rather worked up with all of his staff and Filumena when she is claiming that they are married. Kelly is a great comedy actor and knows how to make the audience roll in the isles with laughter just from a simple glance, gesture of facial expression. 

The chemistry between Kelly and Kendal was unmatched and they made for a great pairing. 

My final standout was a role that didn’t get a lot of stage time, and that was Diana, played by Jodie Steele. Diana was Domenico’s new mistress who turned up half-way through his argument with Filumena, asking him is Filumena had died yet. Steele took this role and created a fantastic character. Her performance was eye-catching and hilarious and she somehow made the opposition to our leading character, rather likeable just from the freshness and energy that she brought to the stage in this role.

Overall, I think that the play is good! The performances from the cast are what makes it an enjoyable piece. As far as the material goes, I think perhaps a revised adaptation may unfortunately be the way forward with this piece, as Act 1 is extremely long, and for what reason? I also found a number of things to be left as plot holes, and heard many audience members discussing these questions on the way out of the theatre too.. So I was left at the end feeling slightly unfulfilled.

If you’re a fan of an Italian comedy, and Felicity Kendal, or even just a 1940s era play for your escapism needs, then go and enjoy Filumena at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford.

It runs until Saturday (26th October) - before heading out further on tour.

24th October 2024

Robbie Davies | Robbie’s Backstage Bants