Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday 16 November
Words by Maria Robinson
Despite the heat of its Italian summer setting, Filumena felt more lukewarm.
Set in the house of rich Dominico Soriano, the play opens with yelling. Filumena (Felicity Kendal) has just deceived Dominico (Matthew Kelly) into marrying her, after being his mistress for 35 years.
What follows through the first act is a back and forth between the two which at times can feel repetitive. A battle of wills between the two leads is only paused on the occasion the supporting characters are given a chance to breathe.
Filumena’s motivations are fueled by the love she has for her three sons, Umberto (Gavin Fowler), Michele (George Banks) and Riccardo (Fabrizio Santino). Her entire ruse is to benefit her children, bringing some depth to her character.
Unfortunately, the others are not given enough time or attention to become anything more than what they are introduced to us as upon first sight.
Where the play is most frustrating is the script. The most interesting parts happen almost entirely offstage. Between the first and second act is a 10 month time skip which is then explained to us. We are not given the chance to see the characters develop, we are told. Over and over, who is who and why they act the way that they do and how they feel about other characters. It feels as though the playwrights did not trust the audience enough to understand these things on their own.
The stage shows a beautiful dining room, with the garden peeking through from behind panes of glass. Looking closer you can see the neglect, wallpaper peeling from the top of the walls. The lighting is also fantastic, with it dimming and pulling warmer during especially emotional scenes.
Kendal as Filumena is captivating, making the audience feel her frustration and sorrow with her upbringing into an unhappy relationship which spanned over 3 decades. Her heartbreak is felt throughout the show. And the scenes with her sons were some of the strongest. Filumena is at its strongest when it lets the characters do more than give the audience context and backstory, instead treating them like real people in the setting. You can see how much the actors are enjoying themselves in scenes where they are given space to move.