Felicity Kendal

Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person Felicity Ann Kendal (born 25 September 1946) is an English actress, working principally in television and theatre. She has appeared in numerous stage and screen roles over a more than 70-year career, including as Barbara Good in the television series The Good Life from 1975 to 1977. Kendal was born in Olton, England, but moved to India with her family from the age of seven. Her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India, and Kendal appeared in roles for the company both before and after leaving England. She appeared in the film Shakespeare Wallah (1965) which was inspired by her family.

Kendal made several television appearances, starting with Love Story in 1966, and made her London stage debut in Minor Murder (1967) at the Savoy Theatre. She was approached to appear in The Good Life while appearing in The Norman Conquests, and appeared in all four series. She later went on to star in the sitcoms Solo (1981–82) and The Mistress (1985 and 1987) which were scripted by Carla Lane. Later television work included The Camomile Lawn (1992), which as of 2022 it remained the most-watched drama ever on Channel 4. However, the poor reception to the 1994 sitcom Honey for Tea led Kendal to focus on stage rather than television work for some years. She co-starred with Pam Ferris on television in Rosemary & Thyme (2003–2006) as one of a pair of gardeners and detectives.

Her stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association with Tom Stoppard, starring in the first productions of many of his plays, including On the Razzle (1981), The Real Thing (1982), Hapgood (1988), and Arcadia (1993). She also appeared in ten plays directed by Peter Hall, from portraying Constanze Mozart in Amadeus (1979) to Esme in Amy's View (2006). She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre. In 2023, she starred as Dotty Otley in Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Many of her stage performances have been critically acclaimed. Kendal was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.

Early life

Felicity Ann Kendal was born in Olton, Warwickshire, England, in 1946.<ref name="BBC SCD 2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="GALE"/> She is the younger daughter of Laura Liddell and actor and manager Geoffrey Kendal.<ref name="Merchant Ivory Shakespeare"/> Her older sister, Jennifer Kendal, was also an actress.<ref name="GKOBIT"/>

After early years in Birmingham, Kendal lived in India with her family from the age of seven: her father was an English actor-manager who led his own repertory company on tours of India.<ref name="Merchant Ivory Shakespeare"/> The ensemble would perform plays from a repertoire including Shakespeare, George Bernard Shaw, and Richard Brinsley Sheridan to audiences that included schoolchildren, nuns, British expatriates, and royalty.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn As the family travelled, Kendal attended six different Loreto College convent schools in India,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> until the age of 13.<ref name="REESM">Template:Cite news</ref> She contracted typhoid fever in Calcutta at the age of 17.<ref name="The Guardian March 2010">Template:Cite news</ref>

Kendal made her stage debut for her family's company aged nine months, when she was carried on stage as the changeling boy in A Midsummer Night's Dream.<ref name="BBC SCD 2010"/><ref name="GALE">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Five years later she was the Changeling in the same play, and aged nine she was Macduff's son in a production of Macbeth.Template:Sfn Her first speaking role was as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream when she was 12.Template:Sfn

Kendal's family and their touring theatre company were the inspiration for the Merchant Ivory Productions film Shakespeare Wallah (1965), which follows the story of nomadic British actors as they perform Shakespeare plays in towns in post-colonial India.<ref name="GKOBIT">Template:Cite news</ref> She played Lizzie Buckingham, the daughter of the company's actor-managers, who falls in love with the son of film star Manjula, portrayed by Madhur Jaffrey.<ref name="Merchant Ivory Shakespeare">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Lizzie's parents face a dilemma between their deep-seated theatrical ambitions and their fears for the welfare of their daughter.<ref name="Merchant Ivory Shakespeare"/> The Observer film critic Kenneth Tynan wrote a positive review of the film, and considered that the role of the daughter was "fetchingly played by the dumpling-faced Felicity Kendal".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Patrick Gibbs of The Daily Telegraph named Kendal as his actress of the year,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and said that, that based on her portrayal of Ophelia in an extract from Hamlet within the film, her performance of that role would "rank with any that [he had] seen".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph journalist Jasper Rees in 2006, Kendal said that her time in India was "sometimes very hard, sometimes very poor, sometimes ghastly, ghastly, ghastly in all sorts of ways", she did not regret it, and that it was an "amazing way of living".<ref name="REESM"/> She also felt that it prepared her for a career in theatre as she did not have any established expectations about how things should be.<ref name="REESM"/> Aged 17, she moved to England, initially living with her aunt.<ref name="MORLEY82">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early television work

Kendal appeared in two episodes of Love Story in 1966, and as a teenage hippie in "The May Fly and the Frog", an episode of The Wednesday Play which starred John Gielgud, the same year.<ref name="GALE"/><ref name="BBCG"/><ref name="MORLEY82"/> Her other early TV roles included parts in Man in a Suitcase (1967),<ref name="GALE"/><ref name="FKUA"/> The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1968–69), The Woodlanders (1970) and Jason King (1972).<ref name="GALE"/>

In 1975, she appeared as Princess Vicky in Edward the Seventh.Template:Sfn In his article about Kendal for the Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television, David Pickering wrote that in the early years of Kendal's television career, "Producers liked her girlish good looks and bubbly confidence and audiences also quickly warmed to her."Template:Sfn

The Good Life

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Kendal had her big break on television with the BBC sitcom The Good Life which started in 1975.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="BFIGL"/> She and Richard Briers starred as Barbara and Tom Good, a middle-class suburban couple who decide to quit the rat race and become self-sufficient, much to the consternation of their snooty but well-meaning neighbour Margo (Penelope Keith) and her down-to-earth husband Jerry Leadbetter (Paul Eddington).Template:Sfn<ref name="BFIGL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kendal appeared in all 30 episodes, which extended over four series and two specials, until 1977.Template:Sfn<ref name="BFIGL"/> BBC Head of Comedy Jimmy Gilbert, who had commissioned The Good Life as a showcase for Briers,Template:Sfn saw Kendal and Keith perform in the play The Norman Conquests and felt they would suit the roles of Barbara and Margo.Template:Sfn Briers approached Kendal in her dressing room and suggested that she read for the part.Template:Sfn Kendal later recounted that she was keen to get the part, both because she needed work and because she felt a rapport with Briers, who was already established, having appeared regularly in television shows since 1962.Template:Sfn The show's producer John Howard Davies also went to see the play, and Kendal and Keith were both given parts.Template:Sfn Eddington also had stage acting experience, and the show's co-writer Bob Larbey felt that having a cast of actors, rather than a comedian as a central figure, made writing episodes easier.Template:Sfn In her 1988 book White Cargo, Kendal reflected that the lead actors' stage experience and their attitude "to be actors first and stars second" was an important factor in the show's success.Template:Sfn She commented that from the beginning, "we slotted into a way of working together that was fun, fast and furiousTemplate:Nbsp... all extremely professional, ambitious and hard-working, and our dedication to the show was total."Template:Sfn She also felt that Larbey and his co-writer John Esmonde tailored the scripts so that they were for the "actors and characters combined".Template:Sfn

Although Barbara has her doubts about Tom's plans for self-sufficiency at first, she supports him emotionally and practically.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The cultural historian Mark Lewisohn commented that it was obvious that Barbara and Tom "enjoy a great marriage, being fully attuned to one another's needs and desires".Template:Sfn The British Film Institute's page about Kendal, written by Tise Vahimagi, argues that the four lead characters were relatable, "with Kendal standing out as the epitome of friendly suburban sexiness in her tight blue jeans".<ref name="BFIS"/> On the Institute's page about The Good Life, Mark Duguid wrote that "Felicity Kendal's lively, sexy Barbara won her the adoration of millions of British men" in a very popular show that was a "gentle social satire of the suburban middle-class".<ref name="BFIGL"/> For Pickering, Kendal's "whimsical, puckish charm and endearingly good-humoured outlook made her ideal for the role".Template:Sfn

After a low-key start, the programme quickly became popular, attracting audiences of about 14 million for new episodes.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By the last episode, Esmonde and Larbey felt that the main storylines had come to a natural end, and decided not to write further episodes.Template:Sfn The last regular episode aired in May 1977 and was followed by a 1977 Christmas special.Template:Sfn The cast reunited for a 1978 Royal Command Performance.Template:Sfn It has often received repeated showings on the BBC, typically at prime viewing times, and the repeats typically attracted high audiences.Template:Sfn

The film and television studies scholars Frances Bonner and Jason Jacobs contended that although The Good Life was consistently a reference point across the coverage later careers of each of the lead actors, this was most pronounced in the case of Kendal.Template:Sfn Kendal has maintained that the character of Barbara Good is very dissimilar to her as a person.Template:Sfn In a 2010 interview, she said of her close association with the character that "[The Good Life] is always on some channel or another. I think it's rather nice. It's following me like a good fairy."<ref name="HARRIES">Template:Cite news</ref> She added that while the other lead characters were like people that the viewers might know personally, Barbara "had all the ingredients – feisty, strong but adoring, up for anything, very funny – that people find attractive".<ref name="HARRIES"/>

Later television work

Davies was so impressed by the performances from Kendal, Keith and Eddington that when he was Head of Comedy for the BBC, he gave them all starring roles in new series: Yes Minister for Eddington, To The Manor Born for Keith, and Solo (1981–82) for Kendal.Template:Sfn Carla Lane wrote Solo, in which Kendal played the lead role of Gemma Palmer, who decides to split from her boyfriend and live independently.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Lane also wrote The Mistress (1985 and 1987) in which Kendal portrayed a florist having an affair with a married man, played by Jack Galloway in 1985 and with a different character played by Peter McEnery in the 1987 version.Template:Sfn<ref name="BFIS"/> Both Solo and The Mistress were positively received,Template:Sfn although some viewers were disappointed by the lack of innocence displayed by Kendal's character in The Mistress compared to that of the Barbara Good character.Template:Sfn Bonner and Jacobs commented that "As Barbara, her sexiness was contained in the loving relationship with her husband, but her subsequent casting in the TV sitcoms Solo (1981–82) and The Mistress (1985–87) reveals even in their titles a making of her imaginatively available for the lustful viewer."Template:Sfn The media scholar Mary Irwin considers that Kendal has avoided being typecast in roles of "acquiescent girlfriend or supportive wife", and that in Solo and The Mistress she "cut through commonplace binaries situating sitcom women as either bimbos or battleaxes".Template:Sfn

The Camomile Lawn (1992) starred Kendal as Helena Cuthbertson, whose property encompassed a mansion and the lawn in the title.<ref name="GCAM">Template:Cite news</ref> Eddington played her husband Richard.<ref name="GCAM"/> Attracting over seven million viewers, as of 2022 it remained the most-watched drama ever on Channel 4.<ref name="GCAM"/> However the 1994 sitcom Honey for Tea starring Kendal was later described by Maureen Paton of the Daily Telegraph as "an unmitigated flop".<ref name="PATON03">Template:Cite news</ref> Her American accent in the show was mocked by TV critic and humourist Victor Lewis-Smith: "In a single phrase, she veered uncontrollably from the Bronx to South Africa via Surrey, like some linguistic Spruce Goose, awkwardly taking off only to crash-land again within moments."Template:Sfn

Having focused on her theatre rather than her television career for some years following the poor reception to Honey for Tea,<ref name="PATON03"/> in 2003 Kendal co-starred with Pam Ferris in Rosemary & Thyme as a pair of gardeners and detectives.<ref name="MENRT">Template:Cite news</ref> Kendal's character Rosemary Boxer is a University of Malmesbury lecturer in applied horticulture.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The show was negatively reviewed, but still popular with viewers, becoming the most viewed new drama series on ITV1 in 2006.<ref name="MENRT"/> Vahimagi wrote that despite "pleasantly skittish performances" from the leads, the show was a "peculiarly dispiriting addition to the list of British detective drama".<ref name="BFIS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Stage work

Kendal auditioned unsuccessfully for Val May at the Bristol Old Vic in early 1966.Template:Sfn Some months later, she auditioned for Tynan and Laurence Olivier National Theatre season at the Old Vic, again without success.Template:Sfn She made her London stage debut in Minor Murder (1967) at the Savoy Theatre.Template:Sfn<ref name="MIDB">Template:Cite news</ref> Kendal and Tessa Wyatt played two friends who murdered the mother of one of them, in a play inspired by the Parker–Hulme murder case.<ref name="MIDB"/> She was cast as Amaryllis in the 1969 production of Back to Methuselah at the Old Vic.<ref name="MORLEY82"/><ref name="B2M">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1972, actors Ian McKellen and Edward Petherbridge, after discussion with director David William, formed the Actors' Company, a collective group with members invited by them.Template:Sfn The actors would all receive equal pay and would rotate between leading and supporting roles, with posters listing their names in alphabetical order.Template:Sfn The founding members were Caroline Blakiston, Marian Diamond, Robert Eddison, Robin Ellis, Tenniel Evans, Kendal, Matthew Long, Margery Mason, McKellen, Frank Middlemass, Juan Moreno, Petherbridge, Moira Redmond, Sheila Reid, Jack Shepherd, Ronnie Stevens and John Tordoff.Template:Sfn As part of the company, Kendal played The Maid in Ruling the Roost, and Annabella in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the 1972 Edinburgh International Festival.Template:Sfn Kendal had departed to look after her new baby by the time the group reconvened in mid-1973.Template:Sfn

Kendal won the Variety Club's Best Stage Actress Award for her performance as Marain in Michael Frayn's Clouds (1978) at the Duke of York's Theatre, London.<ref name="GALE"/><ref name="DFEVITA">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1979 she was directed by Peter Hall for the first time, as Constanze Mozart in Amadeus.<ref name="REESM"/> She later recounted that her experience in the production "taught me to focus on the play rather than the role".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> A recording with the original cast was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 1983.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her stage career blossomed during the 1980s and 1990s when she formed a close professional association with Tom Stoppard,<ref name="REESM"/> starring in the first productions of many of his plays, including On the Razzle (1981), The Real Thing (1982), Hapgood (1988), and Arcadia (1993).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Stoppard scholar Paul Delaney wrote in 1990 that Kendal "first dazzled Stoppard audiences" in On the Razzle, and made Annie in The Real Thing a "poignant role".Template:Sfn He felt that in Hapgood, Kendal gave a "towering performance in the most complex role Stoppard has ever written for a woman."Template:Sfn In his 2002 biography of Stoppard, Ira Nadel remarked that "Hannah Jarvis in Arcadia is, perhaps, the quintessential Kendal role: energetic, inquisitive, strong and possessed with a touch of The Good Life's vibrant celebration of nature."Template:Sfn

Kendal and Stoppard started a romantic relationship that lasted for eight years from around November 1990.Template:Sfn His radio play In the Native State (1991) had a dedication "To Felicity Kendal", and, according to Delaney, it "seemed in some ways to be not only for and by but also about Kendal".Template:Sfn It was adapted for the stage as Indian Ink (1995) and both versions starred Kendal as Flora Crewe, a poet who moves to India and develops a friendship with an artist played by Art Malik who paints her portrait.<ref name="CSII">Template:Cite news</ref> The Daily Telegraph critic Charles Spencer found Kendal's performance by turns "funny, mischievous" and "exceptionally touching".<ref name="CSII"/> Stoppard also made a new translation of The Seagull by Anton Chekhov specifically so that Kendal could play Madame Arkadina (1997).Template:Sfn

She won the Evening Standard Theatre Award in 1989 for her performances in Much Ado About Nothing and Ivanov.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Gerard van Werson of The Stage wrote that as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Kendal "delightsTemplate:Nbsp... with her remarkable charm and her beautiful comic timing".<ref name="MADO89"/>

The critic Sheridan Morley felt that Kendal was "rapidly becoming out most expert player of classic farce" after seeing her in Mind Millie for Me, an adaptation of a Georges Feydeau farce at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London in 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that year, Geoff Chapman of the Toronto Star described Kendal as "once a television sitcom star but now a huge West End draw in serious parts".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Her 2003 performance as Winnie in Happy Days by Samuel Beckett was acclaimed by The GuardianTemplate:'s Michael Billington, who praised Kendal for bringing a "genuine emotional reality" to the role.<ref name="HDAYS"/> She starred as Esme in the West End revival of Amy's View (2006) by David Hare, which was her tenth collaboration with director Peter Hall.<ref name="REESM"/> Hall's "sensitive direction" allowed Kendal to "resoundingly [achieve] both Esme's barbed humour and her sadness" according to Heather Neil of The Stage.<ref name="AMY"/> She appeared in the West End as Florence Lancaster in Noël Coward's play The Vortex in 2008.<ref name="VORTEX">Template:Cite magazine</ref> In Variety, David Benedict felt that "playing her as a woman who overacts strains Kendal's ability to reveal truthful emotion in the final act".<ref name="VORTEX"/>

In 2013, she starred in the first London revival of Relatively Speaking by Alan Ayckbourn at Wyndham's Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Later that year, she toured the UK with Simon Callow in Chin-Chin, an English translation by Willis Hall of Francois Billetdoux's Tchin-Tchin.<ref name="CHIN">Template:Cite magazine</ref> She toured the UK and Australia as Judith Bliss in Noël Coward's Hay Fever, which then played in the West End in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She took her first role in a musical as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival of Anything Goes at the Barbican Theatre.<ref name="ANYGOES">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Kendal starred as Dotty Otley in Noises Off at the Phoenix Theatre and the Theatre Royal Haymarket.<ref name="NOFF"/> The Daily Telegraph reviewer Marianka Swain felt that Kendal was "more brilliant than ever" in the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Other work

On the album Shape Up and Dance with Felicity Kendal (1982), Kendal narrated a keep-fit routine based around yoga and ballet.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> It spent 13 weeks in the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number 29 in 1983,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and went on to sell over 200,000 copies.Template:Sfn

In 1995, Kendal was one of the readers of Edward Lear poems on a spoken-word CD bringing together a collection of Lear's nonsense songs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Personal life

Kendal's first marriage to Drewe Henley (1968–1979) and her second to Michael Rudman (1983–1991) ended in divorce.<ref name="GALE"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Kendal has two sons, including Charley.<ref name="GALE"/> She reunited with Rudman in 1998,<ref name="Telegraph"/> and they remained partners until he died on 30 March 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kendal was brought up in the Catholic faith. She converted to Judaism at the time of her second marriage, but has said about the conversion, "I felt I was returning to my roots."<ref name="JC October 2010">Template:Cite news</ref> Her conversion took more than three years; she has stated that her decision to convert had "nothing to do" with her husband.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kendal's memoirs, titled White Cargo, were published in 1998.Template:Sfn

Kendal was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1995 New Year Honours for services to drama.<ref name="BBC SCD 2010" /><ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> She is an ambassador for the charity Royal Voluntary Service, previously known as WRVS.<ref>"Our Ambassadors: Felicity Kendal CBE" Template:Webarchive, Royal Voluntary Service, Cardiff. Retrieved 11 April 2019.</ref>

Selected filmography

Theatre

Kendal's first two stage appearances were for her family's company, in England.Template:Sfn Having played a changeling boy in A Midsummer Night's Dream when she was nine months old, she was the Changeling in the same play five years later.Template:Sfn After the company returned to Asia, her roles included Macduff's son in Macbeth, Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Jessica in The Merchant of Venice, Ophelia in Hamlet, and Viola in Twelfth Night.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Template:Ref heading
1967	Minor Murder	Carla	Savoy Theatre, London	Template:Sfn<ref name="MIDB"/>
1968	Henry V	Katherine	Phoenix Theatre, Leicester	<ref name="GALE"/>
1968	The Promise	Lika	Phoenix Theatre, Leicester	<ref name="GALE"/>
1969	Back to Methuselah, Part II	Amaryllis	National Theatre Company, The Old Vic, London	<ref name="B2M"/>
1970	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Hermia	Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1970	Much Ado about Nothing	Hero	Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1970	The Lord Byron Show		Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1970–71	Kean	Anne Danby	Oxford Playhouse/Globe Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1972	Ruling the Roost	The Maid	Billingham Forum Theatre/Edinburgh International Festival	Template:Sfn
1972	'Tis Pity She's a Whore	Annabella	Edinburgh International Festival	Template:Sfn
1972	The Three Arrows		Cambridge Arts Theatre	<ref name="GALE"/>Template:Sfn
1972	Romeo and Juliet	Juliet	Oxford Playhouse	<ref name="GALE"/>
1973	Friends, Romans and Lovers	Alison Ames	Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford	Template:Sfn
1974	The Norman Conquests	Annie	Greenwich Theatre/Globe Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1976	Once Upon a Time	Vitoshka	Little Theatre, Bristol	<ref name="GALE"/>
1978	Clouds	Mara	Duke of York's Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1978	Arms and the Man	Raina	Greenwich Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1979	Amadeus	Constanze	National Theatre, London	<ref name="REESM"/>
1980	Othello	Desdemona	National Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1981–82	On the Razzle	Christopher	National Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1981–82	The Second Mrs Tanqueray	Paula	National Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1982–83	The Real Thing	Annie	Strand Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1985	Jumpers	Dorothy	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1986	Made in Bangkok	Frances	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1988	Hapgood	Hapgood	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1989	Ivanov	Anna Ivanov	Strand Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1989	Much Ado about Nothing	Beatrice	Strand Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/><ref name="MADO89">Template:Cite news</ref>
1990	Hidden Laughter		Vaudeville Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1991	Tartuffe	Ariade Utterword	Theatre Royal Haymarket, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1992	Heartbreak House		Theatre Royal Haymarket, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1993	Arcadia	Hannah Jarvis	National Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1994	An Absolute Turkey		Globe Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1995	Indian Ink	Flora Crewe	Aldwych Theatre, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1996	Mind Millie for Me		Theatre Royal Haymarket, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1997	The Seagull	Madame Arkadina	The Old Vic, London	<ref name="GALE"/>
1997	Waste	Amy O'Connell	The Old Vic, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1998	Alarms and Excursions		Gielgud Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2000	Fallen Angels	Julia	Apollo Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2002	Humble Boy	Flora	Gielgud Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
2003	Happy Days	Winnie	Arts Theatre, London	<ref name="HDAYS">Template:Cite news</ref>
2006	Amy's View	Esme	Garrick Theatre, London	<ref name="AMY">Template:Cite news</ref>
2008	The Vortex	Florence	Apollo Theatre, London	<ref name="VORTEX"/>
2009	The Last Cigarette	Simon Gray	Chichester Festival Theatre/Trafalgar Studios, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2010	Mrs. Warren's Profession	Mrs. Warren	Comedy Theatre, London	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2013	Relatively Speaking	Sheila	Wyndham's Theatre, London	<ref name="FKUA"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2013	Chin Chin	Pamela Pusey-Picq	Touring	<ref name="CHIN"/>
2015	Hay Fever	Judith Bliss	Duke of York's Theatre, London	<ref name="FKUA"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2016	A Room with a View	Charlotte Bartlett	Theatre Royal, Bath	<ref name="FKUA"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2017	Lettice and Lovage	Lettice Douffet	Menier Chocolate Factory, London	<ref name="FKUA"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2019	The Argument	Chloe	Theatre Royal, Bath	<ref name="FKUA"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2021	Anything Goes	Evangeline Harcourt	Barbican Theatre, London	<ref name="ANYGOES"/>
2023	Noises Off	Dotty Otley	Phoenix Theatre/Theatre Royal Haymarket, London	<ref name="NOFF">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Ref heading
1966	Love Story	The Turkish Cypriot girl	episode "Another Name from Nowhere"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1966	Love Story	Jenny	episode "A Toy Soldier"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1966	The Wednesday Play	The girl	episode "The May Fly and the Frog"	<ref name="BBCG"/>
1967	ITV Play of the Week	Beth Gray	episode "Person Unknown"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1967	Boy Meets Girl	Mina	episode "Love with a Few Hairs"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1967	Thirty-Minute Theatre	La Principessa	episode "Come Death"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1967	Man in a Suitcase	Marcelle	episode "Blind Spot"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1967	Half Hour Story	Candy	episode "Gone and Never Called Me Mother"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1978	The Easter Play: Strindberg's Easter	Eleonora		<ref name="BBCG"/>
1968–69	The Tenant of Wildfell Hall	Rose		<ref name="GALE"/>
1970	The Woodlanders	Grace Melbury		<ref name="GALE"/>
1972	Jason King	Toki	episode "Toki"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1973	Dolly	Dolly	episodes "The House Opposite", "A Life Subscription", "The Other Lady"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1975	Edward the SeventhTemplate:Efn	Princess Vicky		<ref name="GALE"/>
1975–78	The Good Life	Barbara Good		<ref name="BFIGL"/>
1976	Call My Bluff	panelist		<ref name="GALE"/>
1976	Going for a Song			<ref name="GALE"/>
1976	ITV Sunday Night Drama	Nicola	episode "Now Is Too Late"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1976	Murder	Jane	episode "A Variety of Passion"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1977	Night of 100 Stars			<ref name="GALE"/>
1978	A Play for Love	Cressida Bell	episode "The Marriage Counsellor"	<ref name="11YP">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1978	ITV Playhouse	Victoria	episode "Home and Beauty"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1978	Clouds of Glory	Dorothy Wordsworth	episodes "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "William and Dorothy"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1980	Twelfth Night	Viola		<ref name="GALE"/>
1981	Friday Night, Saturday Morning	Guest		<ref name="GALE"/>
1981	The Theatre Quiz			<ref name="GALE"/>
1981–82	Solo	Gemma Palmer		<ref name="GALE"/>
1984	The Wandering Company	actress, Shakespeare Wallah	Documentary	<ref name="GALE"/>
1985 and 1987	The Mistress	Maxine		<ref name="GALE"/>
1986	Wogan	Guest host		<ref name="GALE"/>
1986	On the Razzle	Christopher		<ref name="GALE"/>
1992	The Camomile Lawn	Helena		<ref name="GALE"/>
1992	Shakespeare: The Animated Tales: Romeo and Juliet	Narrator		<ref name="GALE"/>
1993	The Full Wax			<ref name="GALE"/>
1994	Honey for Tea	Nancy Belasco		<ref name="GALE"/>
1995	The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends	Voice of Hunca Munca	episode "The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse"	<ref name="GALE"/>
1996	French and Saunders			<ref name="GALE"/>
1998	Clive Anderson All Talk			<ref name="GALE"/>
1999	Loose Women			<ref name="GALE"/>
2000	How Proust Can Change Your Life	Narrator		<ref name="GALE"/>
2001	Funny Turns, Felicity Kendal: A Passage from India			<ref name="GALE"/>
2001	Top Ten: Sex Bombs			<ref name="GALE"/>
2003	Friday Night with Jonathan Ross			<ref name="GALE"/>
2003–2006	Rosemary & Thyme	Rosemary Boxer		<ref name="GALE"/>
2005	The South Bank Show		episode "Peter Hall – 50 Years in Theatre: Part 2"	<ref name="GALE"/>
2006	The Kumars at No. 42			<ref name="GALE"/>
2006	The Paul O'Grady Show			<ref name="GALE"/>
2008	Richard & Judy			<ref name="GALE"/>
2008	The Alan Titchmarsh Show			<ref name="GALE"/>
2008	Arena		episode "Paul Scofield"	<ref name="GALE"/>
2008	Doctor Who	Lady Clemency Eddison	episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp"	<ref name="GALE"/>
2010	Strictly Come Dancing (series 8)	contestant	partnered with Vincent Simone	<ref name="BBC SCD 2010"/>
2010	The ONE Show			<ref name="GALE"/>
2010	BBC Breakfast			<ref name="GALE"/>
2012	Felicity Kendal's Indian Shakespeare Quest			<ref name="SHAQ">Template:Cite news</ref>
2012	Piers Morgan's Life Stories	guest		<ref name="PMLS">Template:Cite news</ref>
2017	Inside No.9	Patricia	episode "Private View"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	Pennyworth	Baroness Ortsey	episode "Cilla Black"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	Ludwig	Lady Camilla Bryce	1 episode	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	Rivals	Carole Miroy	1 episode

Film work

Year	Title	Role	Comments	Template:Ref heading
1965	Shakespeare Wallah	Lizzie Buckingham		<ref name="Merchant Ivory Shakespeare"/><ref name="GALE"/>
1977	Valentino	June Mathis		<ref name="GALE"/>
1993	We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story	Elsa (voice)		<ref name="GALE"/>
1999	Parting Shots (1999)	Jill Saunders		<ref name="GALE"/>

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Details	Result	Template:Ref heading
1974	Variety Club	Most Promising Artiste	The Norman Conquests	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1979	Variety Club	Best Actress	Marain, Clouds	Template:Won	<ref name="DFEVITA"/>
1980	Clarence Derwent Award	Best supporting actress	Constanza Mozart, Amadeus	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1984	Variety Club	Woman of the Year		Template:Won	<ref name="BFIS"/>
1984	Variety Club	Best Actress		Template:Won	<ref name="BFIS"/>
1989	Evening Standard Theatre Awards	Best Performance by an Actress	Much Ado About Nothing and Ivanov	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

References

Books and journal articles

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite journal
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Felicity Kendal at the British Film Institute
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0447555

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=0447555|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0447555/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 0447555  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 0447555{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=0447555|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• Template:British Comedy Guide