Review: "Steel Magnolias" Celebrates Female Friendship in the Face of Life's Challenges

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STEEL MAGNOLIAS

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Thursday 14th May 2026, 7pm, Theatre Royal Sydney

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Set in the late 1980’s, Robert Harling ’s STEEL MAGNOLIAS expresses the enduring power of the sisterhood in helping face the challenges of life. Director Lee Lewis transports the audience to the Deep South for a dose of nostalgia for those that remember earlier stage incarnations and the 1989 film of the same name, while ensuring the underlying focus on relationships remains.

Anchoring the ensemble is Mandy Bishop’s Truvy and Bishop is perfectly cast as the big haired and big hearted hairdresser, the same role portrayed by Dolly Parton on film. With a consistent southern drawl, Bishop leans into the comedy of the character with perfect timing in her delivery and a wonderfully intuitive physicality that shows how connected she is to the role. Jessica Redmayne channels cinema Shelby Julia Roberts in energy and big smile. She brings a bright optimism to the role while also ensuring that it is clear that she’s fed up with her mother’s fussing which further fuels her resistance the warnings that a relatively new diagnosis of type 1 diabetes will require her to take more health precautions. She shows that beneath the pink obsession Shelby cares deeply about her fiancé and her family.

While society has changed and there may not be as many women that will stop to their local hairdresser for a wash and set, the need for community remains. Whether it be through mothers’ groups, office communities or pastime clubs and organisations, people still need connection. The beauty about a place like Truvy’s is that women of different generations and experiences come together to support each other. The collective support proves to be important as weighty news not shared causes the women extra burden until their friends coax the secrets out of them and help them process together. Social groups of similar aged people can form somewhat of an echo chamber but a group that has diversity brings in different experiences and viewpoints.

www.steelmagnoliasplay.com.au

Photos: Brett Boardman

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/sydney/article/REVIEW-The-Power-Of-Female-Friendship-Features-In-STEEL-MAGNOLIAS-20260517)._