Felicity Kendal to star in Filumena UK tour & casting announced for Accolade, both directed by Sean Mathias

Bill Kenwright Ltd has announced casting for two new touring productions directed by Sean Mathias.

Part of Mathias’s fourth season of plays at the Theatre Royal Windsor, his production of Emlyn Williams’s classic drama Accolade will star Alasdair Buchan (The Da Vinci Code, An Inspector Calls), Kayleigh Cooper (A Christmas Carol, Wonka), Sara Crowe (Fallen Angels, The Constant Wife), Gavin Fowler (Merchant of Venice 1936, The Picture of Dorian Gray), Jamie Hogarth (Dom – The Play, Mamma Mia!), David Phelan (Mission Impossible, Breakfast at Tiffany’s), Narinder Samra (Passenger, Happy Birthday Sunita), and Sarah Twomey (Paddington in Peru, The Sandman), with further casting to be announced.

Originally written and performed in 1950, Emlyn Williams’s 1950s drama is a dark look at the price of success, and the power of trial-by-media.

Accolade will feature set and costume design by Julie Godfrey, lighting design by Nick Richings and sound design by David Gregory. Principal casting is by Jill Green CDG.

Accolade plays the Theatre Royal Windsor from 31 May to 15 June and will then tour until 13 July.

In the autumn, Felicity Kendal (Noises Off, The Good Life) will star in Filumena, Eduardo de Filippo’s classic comedy, in an English version by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall, and directed by Sean Mathias.

Filumena is set in Naples, and questions the family ties that bind us and whether we can ever escape our past. Further casting is to be announced.

Filumena will run at Theatre Royal Windsor from 4 to 19 October 2025 and will then tour until 25 November.

Director Sean Mathias said in a statement: “These two plays are not what they first appear to be. Accolade is atypical of Emlyn Williams, examining success as approved by the establishment, it quickly deconstructs that success and then looks to smash it. The central character, Will Trenting, was written by the author for himself to play in the world premiere – a character lionized by an order he despised, Will contains shades and shadows of the Welshman himself, who refused to fit into any boxes. Williams had a deep fascination with the psychology of the criminal or alternative mind, and Accolade is a riveting theatrical reflection of his interests. Filumena poses as a colourful comedy that soon turns into a dark, probing examination of family and the law. A fascinating study of manipulation and the human psyche in extremis. Full of trickery and deceit, it is a wonderful mockery of the flawed constraints of traditional values. I am thrilled and excited to be working with Felicity Kendal; she is an actress I have long admired and her unique brand of comedy and sensuality will be a perfect blend for her portrayal of Filumena. Both Williams and De Fillipo were actors and writers as well as great individuals. These two plays are shining examples of their original talents.”

Book tickets to Accolade UK Tour

Book tickets to Filumena – UK Tour