theatre

Steel Magnolias Shows The Power Of Female Friendship

A confession. When the Steel Magnolias film was first released, I skipped an afternoon from school to go and watch it. Like most young girls of the time, I was obsessed with Julia Roberts and her incredible hair, but totally fell in love with the rest of the formidable ladies the film features, and the actresses that played them. Fast forward 30 plus years, and it is still one of my favourite films with the ability to make me laugh out loud, and then cry a river. So I was truly looking forward to the stage version of the classic which had its press night at The Alexandra last night, and it did not disappoint. This beautifully acted piece shows the power of female friendship in the best way possible.

Truvy’s hair salon is the hub of the community, a place for the women of Chinquapin, Louisiana to meet up, gossip and generally put the world to rights. We enter the salon in 1983, when the town is getting ready for the wedding of Shelby Eatenton to her beloved Jackson, and all the women of the town want beautifying by the inimitable Truvy. Truvy has just taken on the shy, nervous Annelle, fleeing from a broken marriage to a small time criminal, and we are soon absorbed into the world of these women, as well as that of Truvy’s mother M’Lynn, the hilariously cantankerous Ouiser, and the formidable Clairee. But early on we see that everything is not right with the beautiful Shelby. She is ill, seriously ill, having diabetes that has left her unable to have children. We see her have a hypo attack in the salon, one that leaves her not knowing where she is, and what she is doing. The women rally around the bride-to-be and Shelby is soon feeling better, but as the time moves forward, we find that Shelby is not unable to have children, but has been advised that she shouldn’t have children, a recommendation that she has ignored much to the horror of her terrified mother, Shelby has her son, but this leaves her health ruined and her needing a kidney transplant, leading to the finale, tragic denouement. Steel Magnolias is an emotional ride that packs the most powerful punch.

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The ensemble cast are all excellent, beautifully acting the roles of the Southern belles with perfect accents. Laura Main as M’Lynn and Diana Vickers as Shelby are both excellent, and have excellent chemistry as a very believable mother and daughter, with Vickers breaking your heart as the sweet woman who just wants to be a mother, and Main delivering a powerhouse, devastating monologue in her final scene that does not leave a dry eye in the house. Lucy Speed, in the Dolly Parton role as Truvy, is absolutely incredible, an absolute revelation, delivering one liners with all the wit and Southern charm they deserve. She is a standout. Elizabeth Ayodele is perfect as Annelle, it is so lovely to see her character emerge from the shy shell, whilst Caroline Harker as Clairee, and Claire Carpenter as Ouiser are hilarious together, with a brilliant comic chemistry that is shown in all it’s glory in the final scene.

The staging is cleverly done, with the action never leaving the confines of Truvy’s salon, and the clever script is that perfect mix of pathos and Southern humour, so that even when the action takes a tragic turn, you laugh through your tears. Above all, this is a story of the power of female friendship through good times and bad, delivered in the most wonderful way by a perfect cast.

Steel Magnolias

The Alexandra, Birmingham

Tue 21 Mar – Sat 25 Mar 2023

Tickets available from website: atgtickets.com/Birmingham

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