Steel Magnolias by Robert Harling
Directed by Anne Somes. ACT HUB. Free Rain Theatre Company.
May 10-20. Bookings: 02 62108748, enquiries@acthub.com.au
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Janie Lawson, Lainie Hart, Helen McFarlane Victoria Tyrrell-Dixon and Katy Larkin in Free Rain Theatre's STEEL MAGNOLIAS |
Like a new haircut, Anne Somes’s production of Steel Magnolias grew on me as the
stories of the six women in the Beauty Salon unfolded in Robert Harling’s
remarkably perspicacious play. It took a while for my ear to adjust to the
southern drawl and for the actors to settle into the performance. It quickly
became apparent however that this was a beautifully directed and exceptionally
well performed piece of ensemble theatre.
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| Helen MacFarlane as Truvy and Janie Lawson as Clairee |
The entire action of the play takes place in Truvy Jones’s Beauty Salon. Gregarious Truvy played with effusive liveliness by Helen Macfarlane has recently employed newcomer to the town Annelle Dupuy-Desoto performed with appealing naivety by Katy Larkin. Through the salon doors the women enter a world where friendships, secrets, confidences and women’s business find camaraderie and a voice. It is their private haven where small town familiarity accepts the idiosyncracy of Ouiser Boudreaux’s thirty years of being cross, captured with eccentric energy by Lainie Hart and Janie Lawson’s performance of the late Mayor’s widow Clairee Belcher’s allows Clairee’s forthright sense of humour to conceal her recent loss. Victoria Tyrrell Dixon’s M’Lynn Eatenton bears the sophistication of a Southern Belle and a refined dignity. Jess Waterhouse’s portrayal of M’Lynn’s daughter Shelby intriguingly combines a vulnerability with a resilience that struggles to overcome her infirmity.
As the play proceeds and the women reveal their individual
personalities and conflicts the spirit of their unity creates an unmistakeable
bond and compassionate love. Director Somes directs with a powerful
understanding of the female heart and soul that moves an audience to laughter one
moment and tears the next. There is an overpowering feeling of love and support
when the women surround M’Lynn as she describes the pain at the loss of her
daughter. Tyrell Dixon’s performance is superb, restrained and yet bursting
with the pain of her grief.
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| The cast of Steel Magnolias |
It is a joy to see a play written with such insight and empathy by playwright Harling for six actors who intrinsically capture the essential nature of their characters. The power of Steel Magnolias and the strength of the direction and the performance is that we are enticed to care for each character and share the compassion for their pain and their grief while also rejoicing in their fellowship and sisterhood. We are compelled in this production to agree with M’Lynn when she ends the show with “You are all wonderful.” It is true of the women who support M’Lynn through her grief. It is true of the performances of an excellent cast and of Somes’s creative Free Rain team of Cate Clelland (set design0, Craig Muller (lighting design), Justin Mullins (sound design} Tanya Taylor, assisted by Fiona Leach (costume design) and Jill Young as assistant director.
Steel Magnolias is
not tough enough to stop the tears or stem the laughter, but it is powerful
enough to touch the heart and spark the spirit.
Don’t miss it.
Photos by Janelle McMenamin
Like a new haircut, Abbe Somes’s production of Steel Magnolias grew on me as the stories of the six women in the Beauty Salon unfolded in Robert Harling’s remarkably perspicacious play. It took a while for my ear to adjust to the southern drawl and for the actors to settle into the performance. It quickly became apparent however that this was a beautifully directed and exceptionally well performed piece of ensemble theatre.
