Pretending to be dying, Filumena Marturano convinces Domenico Soriano, her lover from the time she worked in the brothels of Napes, to marry her. When Soriano learns the truth, he cancels the wedding. However, Filumena has another weapon at her disposal. She tells him that she has three sons, who she raised using Soriano’s money, and that one of them is his...
In the slums of Naples, the wealthy confectioner Domenico Soriano meets the young Filumena in a brothel. He falls in love with her, takes her home, and entrusts her with the management of his home and business. Filumena serves him faithfully and devotedly, but he does not consider her worthy to be his wife. After they have been living together for twenty years, Soriano decides to marry a much younger woman. No longer able to bear Soriano’s ingratitude and infidelities, Filumena pretends to be dying and convinces him to marry her. However, when Soriano realises that he has been tricked, he succeeds in having the marriage annulled. Filumena has only one course open to her, leading Soriano to an entirely new view of life which he could not previously have imagined.

Eleni Randou, who has been honoured with the Karolos Koun Prize for her writing, gives us a completely new take on Eduardo De Filippo’s Filumena Marturano, a work made famous by the performances of a host of great actresses, while preserving the social perspective and wit of the original.