HAVING been taught that it is rude to discuss a lady’s age in public, and not much better a gentleman’s, it is with a little reluctance that I say that the two leads, Felicity Kendal and Matthew Kelly, who carry the greatest burden in Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall’s expert adaption of Eduardo De Filippo’s classic comedy, are now in the veteran class. I mention this purely to heap praise on the these two performances. On more than one occasion in the past it has been sad to see veteran actors struggling to maintain their concentration and remember the words, watching the characterisation disappear into distance.
Forgive me if there is even a hint of being patronising when I say that none of those criticisms apply to Felicity Kendal and Matthew Kelly, who never missed a beat in two demanding roles creating characters that fitted ideally into the warm setting of Morgan Large’s opulent Neapolitan villa. To watch Felicity’s flippant, about-to-retire whore Filumena, teasing her long time partner Kelly’s ultra-rich Domenico Soriano, whom she has just tricked into marriage, before turning to the more serious business of suggesting he accepts her three illegitimate sons, one of whom he has sired, as his own, was a delight.
Going from broad comedy to utter frustration, Kelly’s Domenico, with help of scheming new young love Diana (played by Jodie Steele), and expertly ineffectual solicitor Nocella, played by Ben Nealon, frustrate Filumena’s plans. In lesser hands than Felicity Kendal’s, the scene that follows before Filumena makes her exit with faithful companion Rosalia (played by Julie Legrand), in which we learn of the horrendous poverty of the home that drove her onto the streets aged just 17, battles to bring up her three sons and give them a good start in life, without allowing them any knowledge of her lifestyle or even existence, could easily have turned into sloppy sentimentality. Instead it was a moving experience, leaving the audience to go out for their interval refreshments wondering how on earth things could turn around for Filumena.
How would her true love for Domenico, and his for her, be revealed? How would a happy relationship be established between them and her sons Umberto, Riccardo and Michele – three very distinct characterisations from Gavin Fowler, Fabrizio Santino and George Banks.
Rather like revealing the denouement at the end of a thriller, it would be unfair to tell you how the story is resolved in Act 2. For that you will have to visit Bath’s Theatre Royal before the final performance on Saturday 16th November. Suffice it to say it is done with great dexterity by Felicity Kendal and Matthew Kelly, leaving the audience with a warm feeling to match that of the Neapolitan sunshine, seen all evening through the windows of Domenico Soriano’s beautiful villa.
GRP