Editing Felicity Kendal (section)

==Stage work==
Kendal auditioned unsuccessfully for [[Val May]] at the [[Bristol Old Vic]] in early 1966.{{sfn|Nadel|2004|p=317}} Some months later, she auditioned for Tynan and [[Laurence Olivier]] [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]] season at the [[Old Vic]], again without success.{{sfn|Nadel|2004|p=317}} She made her London stage debut in ''Minor Murder'' (1967) at the [[Savoy Theatre]].{{sfn|Webber|2001|p=110}}<ref name="MIDB">{{cite news |last=Wardle |first=Irving |author-link=Irving Wardle |title=Middlebrow angle on corruption |newspaper=The Times |date=26 July 1967 |page=6}}</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">{{cite web |title=Felicity Kendal |url=https://catalogue.nationaltheatre.org.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Roles&id=ROLE126647 |website=National Theatre Archive |access-date=17 April 2024 |archive-date=17 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240417215037/https://catalogue.nationaltheatre.org.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Roles&id=ROLE126647 |url-status=live }}</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.{{sfn|Gibson|1986|p=74}} The actors would all receive equal pay and would rotate between leading and supporting roles, with posters listing their names in alphabetical order.{{sfn|Gibson|1986|p=75-77}} The founding members were  [[Caroline Blakiston]], Marian Diamond, [[Robert Eddison]], [[Robin Ellis]], [[Tenniel Evans]], Kendal, Matthew Long, [[Margery Mason]], McKellen, [[Frank Middlemass]], [[John Moreno|Juan Moreno]], Petherbridge, [[Moira Redmond]], [[Sheila Reid]], [[Jack Shepherd (actor)|Jack Shepherd]], [[Ronnie Stevens (actor)|Ronnie Stevens]] and [[John Tordoff]].{{sfn|Gibson|1986|p=77}} As part of the company, Kendal played The Maid in ''[[Le Dindon|Ruling the Roost]]'', and Annabella in  ''[['Tis Pity She's a Whore]]'' at the 1972 [[Edinburgh International Festival]].{{sfn|Johns|1973|p=176, 191}} Kendal had departed to look after her new baby by the time the group reconvened in mid-1973.{{sfn|Barratt|2005|p=76}}

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">{{cite news |last=Edward |first=Sydney |title=Double for Evita |newspaper=Evening Standard |page=1 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-double-for-evita/145563265/ |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=17 April 2024 |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420121845/https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubmV3c3BhcGVycy5jb20vYXJ0aWNsZS9ldmVuaW5nLXN0YW5kYXJkLWRvdWJsZS1mb3ItZXZpdGEvMTQ1NTYzMjY1Lw-- |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1979 she was directed by [[Peter Hall (director)|Peter Hall]] for the first time, as Constanze Mozart in ''[[Amadeus (play)|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>{{cite news |last=Tims |first=Anna |title=How we made: Peter Shaffer and Felicity Kendal on Amadeus |newspaper=The Guardian |date=14 January 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jan/14/how-we-made-amadeus |access-date=18 April 2024 |archive-date=12 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312112843/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jan/14/how-we-made-amadeus |url-status=live }}</ref> A recording with the original cast was broadcast on [[BBC Radio 3]] in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |title=Drama on 3: Amadeus |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wwm26#synopsis |work=BBC Radio 3 |year=2011 |access-date=14 April 2024 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108172853/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00wwm26#synopsis |url-status=live }}</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 (play)|On the Razzle]]'' (1981), ''[[The Real Thing (play)|The Real Thing]]'' (1982), ''[[Hapgood (play)|Hapgood]]'' (1988), and ''[[Arcadia (play)|Arcadia]]'' (1993).{{sfn|Delaney|2001|pages=5–8}}{{sfn|Delaney|2001a|page=33}} 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".{{sfn|Delaney|1990|p=135}} He felt that in ''Hapgood'', Kendal gave a "towering performance in the most complex role Stoppard has ever written for a woman."{{sfn|Delaney|1990|p=135}} 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."{{sfn|Nadel|2004|p=319}}

Kendal and Stoppard started a romantic relationship that lasted for eight years from around November 1990.{{sfn|Delaney|2001a|page=33}} 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".{{sfn|Delaney|2001a|page=33}} 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">{{cite news |last=Spencer |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Spencer (journalist) |title=Stoppard in the heart of India |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=1 March 1995 |page=21 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/751813542/?match=1&clipping_id=145462045 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=16 April 2024 |archive-date=20 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420121718/https://www.newspapers.com/image/751813542/?match=1&clipping_id=145462045 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' critic [[Charles Spencer (journalist)|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).{{sfn|Delaney|2021|p=541}}

She won the [[Evening Standard Theatre Awards|''Evening Standard'' Theatre Award]] in 1989 for her performances in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' and ''[[Ivanov (play)|Ivanov]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=The awards in full |newspaper=Evening Standard |date=14 November 1989 |page=3 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-the-awards-in-full/145563753/ |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Gerard van Werson of ''The Stage'' wrote that as [[Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing)|Beatrice]] in ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'', Kendal "delights{{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 ''[[Occupe-toi d'Amélie!|Mind Millie for Me]]'', an adaptation of a [[Georges Feydeau]] farce at the  [[Theatre Royal Haymarket]], London in 1996.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morley |first=Sheridan |author-link=Sheridan Morley |title='Nuremberg Trial' Avoids the Histrionics |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |date=15 May 1996 |page=13}}</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>{{cite news |first=Geoff |last=Chapman |title=London's Old Vic lands major actors |newspaper=Toronto Star |date=29 November 1996 |page=D.13}}</ref>

Her 2003 performance as Winnie in ''[[Happy Days (play)|Happy Days]]'' by [[Samuel Beckett]] was acclaimed by ''The Guardian''{{'}}s [[Michael Billington (critic)|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 (playwright)|David Hare]], which was her tenth collaboration with director [[Peter Hall (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">{{cite magazine |last=Benedict |first=David |title=The Vortex |magazine=Variety |volume=410 |number=3 |date=3 March 2008 |page=42}}</ref> In ''[[Variety (magazine)|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 (1965 play)|Relatively Speaking]]'' by [[Alan Ayckbourn]] at [[Wyndham's Theatre]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Spencer |first=Charles |author-link=Charles Spencer (journalist) |date=21 May 2013 |title=''Relatively Speaking'', Wyndham's Theatre, review |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/10068500/Relatively-Speaking-Wyndhams-Theatre-review.html |access-date=4 April 2018 |archive-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618072640/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-reviews/10068500/Relatively-Speaking-Wyndhams-Theatre-review.html |url-status=live }}</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">{{cite magazine |last=Shenton |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Shenton |date=16 July 2013 |title=Felicity Kendal and Simon Callow to Star in U.K. Tour of Classic Comedy ''Chin-Chin'' |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/felicity-kendal-and-simon-callow-to-star-in-u.k.-tour-of-classic-comedy-chi-207571 |magazine=[[Playbill (magazine)|Playbill]] |access-date=24 October 2014 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221724/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/felicity-kendal-and-simon-callow-to-star-in-u.k.-tour-of-classic-comedy-chi-207571 |url-status=dead }}</ref> She toured the UK and Australia as Judith Bliss in Noël Coward's ''[[Hay Fever (play)|Hay Fever]]'', which then played in the West End in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Billington (critic)|author-link=Michael Billington (critic) |title=Hay Fever review – hysteria rules as Felicity Kendal does Coward |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/27/hay-fever-review-noel-coward-felicity-kendal |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=28 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020035016/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/27/hay-fever-review-noel-coward-felicity-kendal |archive-date=20 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/10/08/4102694.htm |title=Win tickets to Noel Coward's Hay Fever! |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141120142839/http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/10/08/4102694.htm |archive-date=20 November 2014 |website=[[774 ABC Melbourne]] |date=8 October 2014}}</ref>

She took her first role in a [[Musical theatre|musical]] as Evangeline Harcourt in the 2021 London revival of ''[[Anything Goes]]'' at the [[Barbican Theatre]].<ref name="ANYGOES">{{cite web|last=Gans|first=Andrew|date=4 August 2021|title=Sutton Foster Is Reno Sweeney in London's Anything Goes, Opening August 4 at the Barbican|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/sutton-foster-is-reno-sweeney-in-londons-anything-goes-opening-august-4-at-the-barbican|access-date=25 September 2021|website=Playbill|archive-date=2 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211102235951/https://www.playbill.com/article/sutton-foster-is-reno-sweeney-in-londons-anything-goes-opening-august-4-at-the-barbican|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Saturday Live: Felicity Kendal and Ore Oduba |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000xdff |date=25 June 2012 }}</ref> In 2023, Kendal starred as Dotty Otley in ''[[Noises Off]]'' at the [[Phoenix Theatre, London|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>{{cite news |last=Swain |first=Marianka |date=20 October 2023 |title= Noises off: Michael Frayn's masterpiece remains unmatched for laugh-til-you-weep hilarity |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/noises-off-theatre-royal-haymarket-review/ |url-access=subscription}}</ref>