Filumena (1993)
by Eduardo de Filippo English version by Keith Waterhouse & Willis Hall
Directed by Leslie Lidyard
Performances: Tue 12th – Sat 16th March 1993, Bell Theatre
Contents
Introduction
The action of the play takes place in Domenico Soriano's house.
Cast
- Filumena Marturano - Ruth Shettle
- Domenico Soriano - Dennis Packham
- Alfredo Amoroso - Derek West
- Rosalia Solimene - Frances Walker
- Diana - Fiona Daffern
- Lucia - Yvonne Amos
- Umberto - Greg Davis
- Riccardo - David John
- Michele - Russell Bartlett
- Nocella - Mark S Dhaliwal
- Teresina - June McAuliffe
- 1st Waiter - Alan Buckman
- 2nd Waiter - Tom Williams
Crew
- Set Design - Alan Buckman
- Stage Manager - June McAuliffe
- Assistant Stage Manager - Thomas Williams
- Lighting Design - Keefe Browning
- Lighting Operator - Kevin Richardson
- Sound Recording - Brian Fretwell
- Sound Operator - Melanie Deborca
- Set Construction - Anton Krause & Keefe Browning
- Prompt - Sarah Walters
- Programme/Poster Design - David John
Reviews
"It's a bit like the Three Tenors concert at SLTC this week. " Neopolitan songs while away the time before the curtain goes up. When it does so, Eduardo de Filippo's Neopolitan comedy comes across as strangely operatic in character, with big, florid solos, duets and static ensembles. " Translated by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, the charming story about an ex-whore who finally brings a wealthy former client to the altar is worthy of a score by Donizetti in his Don Pasquale vein. " It opens on a scena tempestosa, with Domenico berating Filumena in accents of sound and fury signifying very little, and closes on a kind of reconciliatory chorus, featuring three sons and a clutch of servants, as the two finally get married. " Leslie Lidyard directs this drama giocoso with a florish. Dennis Packham's posturing and windy rhetoric as Domenico being made to look suitably ridiculous by Ruth Shettle's beautifully poised and dignified Filumena. " Her sons, while all having personalities of their own, come across collectively as a comic trio: David John the self-important shopkeeper, Russell Bartlett the lumbering plumber and Greg Davis the studious one who qualifies as an accountant. " Well to the fore in a lively supporting cast, Frances Walker gives a performance of some charm and grace as the old retainer Rosalia, ironically thanking an inattentive Derek West, as her fellow servant Alfredo, for listening to her life history. " Mark S Dhaliwal's quirky contribution also lingers in the memory as Nocella, one of those dry, pedantic lawyers who used to take the subsidiary tenor roles in opera buffa."
Donald Madgwick, The Advertiser, Friday, March 19th, 1993.
Gallery
- Photos by Brian Fretwell
Ensemble
Reminiscences and Anecdotes
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See Also
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References
Note that the framed picture on stage (on the left side of the photos) would re-appeare as the poster for Les Liaisons Dangereuses (2001) <references/>
