Review: Steel Magnolias at His Majesty’s Theatre

Steel Magnolias at His Majesty’s Theatre
Tuesday, July 7, 2026

A delicious slice of small-town Louisiana landed at His Majesty’s Theatre on Tuesday evening with the arrival of beloved eighties period piece Steel Magnolias, brought to the west in a collaborative effort from both Neil Gooding Productions and Woodward Productions. Dripping with as much Southern hospitality and sweetness as the tastiest New Orleans beignet, this warm and engaging performance was anchored by four-time Gold Logie winner Lisa McCune, with her fellow actresses a veritable who’s who of Australian television royalty.

Set in the fictional parish of Chinquapin yet with regular mention of real-life cities Monroe and Shreveport, Steel Magnolias was the story of six strongly interconnected women, their individual triumphs and challenges, and the immutable love and friendship shared between them that buttressed all against the roughest storms.

A semi-autobiographical piece originally written for the stage by Robert Harling in 1987, Steel Magnolias captured international attention when it received its big Hollywood treatment two years later. As it returned to the theatre tonight, it was less about the lines directly said aloud, important though they were, but rather more focused on the fierce, invisible bonds that tied the characters together.

The stage was set as Truvy’s home salon, a converted garage for the neighbourhood women to socialise while being pampered. McCune acted as matriarch, and professional counsellor M’Lynn Eatenton, deeply protective of daughter Shelby, played by Jessica Redmayne, the younger character commencing her wedding day as the show opened.

Truvy Jones, owner of the self-styled beauty spot and a full-throttle chatterbox, was performed with gusto and a great deal of flair by Mandy Bishop. She was joined by Lotte Beckett playing Truvy’s apprentice Annelle Dupuy, a newcomer to the parish with a complicated recent past.

Rounding out the cast were Belinda Giblin and Tracy Mann as Ouiser Boudreaux and Clairee Belcher, respectively. Ouiser came across on first contact as a curmudgeon constantly feuding with her neighbours but who deeply loved her dog Rhett, whilst Clairee was the late mayor’s widow, a woman who combined soft power across this corner of her state, a seeming detachment from the day-to-day around her, and the slyest sense of humour carried in her back pocket.

Director Lee Lewis appears to have handled the material she clearly loves deeply with a light touch, trusting both in the story and the powerhouse cast assembled to tease out the best possible version of the production. The stage design was period to a tee, likely including the last rotary phone in the country not yet in a museum, with the lighting and sound subtle yet powerful.

The sense of the salon being a shared safe space between the women grew stronger as the performance progressed, to the point that by the second act, there was a clearly marked delineation between the six inside and everyone else, especially the men, outside. This was only slightly offset by the radio giving football results and shopping specials, the sole male voice of the entire show. The core bonds grew ever deeper even as the script deftly showcased each woman with their own agency.

McCune and Redmayne, with the mother-daughter relationship of their characters, carried the emotional weight of the night. Redmayne played Shelby as an optimist who always saw the good in others, a paediatric nurse who never grew tired of the children who crossed her path, stubbornly earnest in what she believed in, and a shining light that brought joy to all in her life. McCune, as M’Lynn, in turn was more cautious in her approach to the world yet cared about it just as passionately as Shelby.

With their decades of experience, both on stage and screen, Giblin and Mann were superb as a double act, their characters and the actresses themselves often bouncing off each other with either a sly aside or a direct, laugh-out-loud moment. Clairee volunteering Ouiser for any physical punishment or Ouiser’s crankiness turning more performative as she found her assigned place in the group were both hilarious and wonderful to watch.

Beckett played the quiet new girl delightfully, who grew in confidence as the seasons turned to the point she could hold her own with the louder personalities on stage, even when challenged, whilst Bishop’s character metaphorically held the entire premise together, the greatest hair styling diplomat who delicately praised, almost to the point of believability, her friends’ DIY bottle dye mishaps.

From its off-Broadway roots almost four decades ago, through the onstage changes of seasons and holidays, from too-sticky summers to freezing Halloweens, Steel Magnolias continues to highlight its relevance through to today. Exemplified by a phenomenal cast put together for this Australian production, it very clearly remains a celebration of community found, women supporting women, and the fiercest possible friendships.

Steel Magnolias was fabulous event theatre, with clear and heartfelt messaging for all.

PAUL MEEK