STEEL MAGNOLIAS – Canberra Theatre
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| Jessica Redmayne (Shelby) - Belinda Giblin (Ouiser) - Lisa McCune (M'Lynn) - Mandy Bishop (Truvy) - Lotte Beckett (Annelle) - Debra Lawrance (Clairee) |
Written by Robert Harling – Directed by Lee Lewis
Set and Costume design by Simone Romaniuk – Lighting
Design by Paul Jackson
Composition and Sound Design by Brady Watkins
Produced by Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward
Productions.
Canberra Theatre Centre – July 17th – 21,
2026.
Opening night performance – July 18th reviewed
by BILL STEPHENS
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| Debra Lawrance (Clairee) - Belinda Giblin (Ouiser) - Lisa McCune (M'Lynn) |
Written by Robert Harling in 1987, originally as a coping
mechanism to deal with the death of his sister, “Steel Magnolias” is far from
the gloomy narrative one might expect. Instead, the play, offers a laugh-a-minute
glimpse into the lives of six Southern women living in a small fictional
community in Louisiana.
These women have formed a strong bond and regularly gather
in Truvy’s hairdressing salon where they challenge and comfort each other while
sharing the minutiae of their daily lives, which when the play opens, is
focussed on the upcoming wedding of Shelby, who’s engaged in a combative
relationship with her mental health counsellor mother, M’Lynn about details of
her wedding.
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| Mandy Bishop (Truvy) - Lotte Beckett (Annelle) - Jessica Redmayne (Shelby) |
Harling’s play became an audience favourite majorly due to
the 1989 film which starred Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley McLaine,
Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton and Daryl Hannah.
Many of us treasure memories of the original 1988 Australian
stage production in which Nicole Kidman made her stage debut as Shelby in a
cast that included Nancye Hayes, Maggie Dence, Melissa Jaffer, Genevieve Lemon
and Pat McDonald.
Many others have become familiar with the play through the
numerous community theatre productions around the country over the years.
For this national tour, Producers Neil Gooding and Alex
Woodward have mounted a visually beautiful production of this play for which
they gifted director, Lee Lewis, known for her meticulous eye for detail and
nuance, with the challenge of captivating a new generation of audiences.
Lewis’ response has been to devise a visually beautiful
production with set and costumes by Simone Romaniuk, and cast it with some of
the country’s best known and accomplished actresses in Lisa McCune, Belinda
Giblin, Debra Lawrance, Mandy Bishop, Jessica Redmayne and Lotte Beckett, all
of whom have grasped the opportunity to create fresh, memorable
characterisations destined to remain in the memories of all who experience
them.
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| Debra Lawrance (Clairee) - Mandy Bishop (Truvy) - Lotte Beckett (Annelle) |
Mandy Bishop, well-known for her many years delighting
audiences with her chameleon-like ability to inhabit multiple characterisations
in the Wharf Revues, plays the warm-hearted, Truvy, owner of the salon, confidant
and keeper of the secrets.
Sporting an outrageous blonde wig and deep Southern accent, Bishop
resists the temptation to offer a cheap caricature of Dolly Parton. Instead, she
invests her role with a myriad of detail to create a delightfully funny and compelling
character around whom much of the action revolves.
Lotte Beckett plays the mysterious young hair stylist, Annelle,
who Truvy has just employed. Annelle’s emergence from shy introvert to
confident born-again Christian is charmingly and believably portrayed by
Beckett.
Portraying Shelby, the young bride struggling with the
effects of Type 1 diabetes, Jessica Redmayne charms with her optimistic
enthusiasm. As the effects of her condition become more noticeable, Shelby’s enthusiasm
frustrates her stylish, uptight mother, M’Lynn, in a superbly modulated and
moving performance by Lisa McCune, which reaches its zenith in a fierce
outburst by M’Lynn, prefacing the funniest scene in the play.
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| Jessica Redmayne (Shelby) - Lisa McCune (M'Lynne) |
Rounding out a superb cast, Debra Lawrance and Belinda
Giblin portray two frenemies, Clairee and Ouiser, who disguise their deep affection
for each other under a constant barrage of hilarious barbs.
Part of the joy of this production is watching these prodigiously
talented actors exercise their own and each other’s skills to create powerful,
engaging moments capable of reducing their audience to a favourite place
revealed by Truvy at one point -laughter through tears.
Photos by Bret Boardman
This
review also published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW.
