Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Filumena review, Almeida

Filumena is a romp through Neapolitan stereotypes - feisty old whore, lascivious businessman, sexy gold digger, wily retainers and brothers who've never met. In this new version we meet Filumena and her new husband, Domenico, in the garden of his Naples villa. It is not, alas, the happiest day of their lives. The bride feigned death to trick the groom into marrying her. Worse: she admits to having secretly borne three sons while still a whore. Only one is Domenico's, but she wants all to have his name. There could be trouble ahead...

Splay of Naples
In the classic love/hate fallout that follows, and a reverse version of who's-the-daddy, Director Michael Attenborough plays up the comic book plot. His leads - the exemplary Clive Wood and the audaciously brilliant Samantha Spiro - over-egg every scene with elaborate gestures and wild expressions. All that's missing to complete the heady mood enhanced by Robert Jones' courtyard set is complimentary macaroni for the audience.

This is a production bursting with heart; what's missing is evidence of head. The script is littered with wodges of back-story to convince us of character integrity because the characters themselves have so little. Nothing is believable. It is possible that something of the 1940s Italian original has been lost in Tanya Ronder's workaday translation. More scary is the thought that it hasn't. 

In conclusion: In terms of plot, this is fast moving comedy, but its presentation and delivery is one-dimensional. As a sauce it should be a sharp and stomach-warming arrabiata, but a surfeit of ham has made it a stodgy carbonara.

References
Almeida Theatre, tickets
Michael Billington in The Guardian

Almeida Theatre, Almeida Street, London N1 1TA   This run has now finished.



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4 comments:

  1. Lucille29 March 2012 at 18:03

    Samantha Spiro is a jewel of the London theatre crowd, however she seems to have attached herself to a rusted crown here! Bring back Hello Dolly I say, it was the only production that matched her acting prowess.

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  2. Shyama30 March 2012 at 00:18

    That whole production was fantastic and she was an unforgettable Dolly. She was also spectacular in Chicken Soup With Barley at the Royal Court last year. She has a fantastic, good energy that's infectious, but it's beyond even her powers to salvage this production.

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  3. Anonymous23 May 2012 at 23:51

    Excellent review, yet again. Spot on. We sat in the £8 seats so no complaints (thats the positive thing about the Almeida, plenty of restricted view seats available, but not so restricted you can't see anything , and at very reasonable prices), and to be positive the quality of the acting was very good, if not the narrative or dodgy historical backdrop.

    I.C

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  4. Shyama24 May 2012 at 08:36

    Everything I've seen at the Almeida recently has felt like cartoon-theatre. Every emotion is represented physically as well as verbally - it's like WWF put into a cultural context for the good burghers of Islington:(

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