Theatre Royal, Windsor – until 19th October 2024
Reviewed by Joanna Huggett
5*****
We were delighted to go see ‘Filumena’ at the Theatre Royal Windsor, a play originally written by Eduardo De Filippo and adapter by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, and starring Felicity Kendal (playing Filumena Maturano) and Matthew Kelly (playing Domenico Soriano).
Don Soriano has been duped into marrying Filumena, his long time prostitute and now live in partner under the pretence that, from her death bed, she would probably not have long live – only to discover, once married, that she is indeed as fit and as well as Don Soriano himself.
The entire play takes place in the lounge of Don Domenico’s house in Naples, slowly revealing Filumena’s true objectives for the marriage and what she is prepared to do in order to achieve them. Both Kendal and Kelly are exemplary throughout, and they are supported by a wealth of talent in Julie Legrand, Jamie Hogarth, Lee Peck, Jodie Steel, Sarah Twomey, Ben Nealon, Gavin Fowler, Fabrizio Santino, George Banks and Hilary Tones – many of whom we have seen on this stage before.
I don’t want to give away too much of the plot since the story continuously unfolds throughout the performance, but suffice to say that Filumena has a lot of history and she’s steadfast in her goals for a future too, but not necessarily her own future.
This is a must-see play, we rarely get the opportunity to see Felicity Kendal and Matthew Kelly deliver a masterclass of stage-play, don’t leave it too late to book your tickets.