Robert Harling's 36-year old comedy-drama is a constant candidate for revival - well remembered from the 1989 film and with an all-female cast with not a dud role among them, it's an appealingly quotable combination of hilarious comedy and emotional punchy drama as six Louisiana women in a beauty parlour look at the challenges of family, friendship, aging, marriage, parenthood and religion with the aid of a fresh set of nail polish and an ungodly amount of hairspray. It's been 9 years since it was last seen in Canberra (previous review here) but given the show's nature as a modern classic, a return visit is always welcome- particularly with a cast as strong as this one.
Director Anne Soames gives a very presentational production (with the audience being the beauty-parlour's mirror that the cast reflect and check out their new looks as various numbers of the cast get made over repeatedly). It's focused on telling the story cleanly and with charm, giving the cast plenty of room to embody their characters and give these archetypes a few bonus dimensions. The cast are moved into and out of focus on the two-level set, clumping into supportive groups around each other as characters face their various crises, kept busy as they flick through magazines, get in and out of various wigs and costumes which are 1980s-appropriate without making a fetish of the era's ridiculousness. I also appreciated the hanging-feature of hairdryers at the back of the stage, giving it a bit of bonus decoration.
Helen McFarlane as salon-owner Truvy is the charming mother-bear of a hostess, constantly solicitous of her clients, drawing out their stories and engaging in their dramas with charm and sweetness. Katy Larkin as new-girl Annelle projects an endearing sense of nerves and crisis, even as the plot pushes her into some slightly offputting religious proletysing. Janie Lawson embraces the glee of gossip as Clairee, delighting in everybody's stories and enjoying sharing her own. Jess Waterhouse is an incredibly endearing, independent and strong-minded Shelby, Victoria Tyrrell Dixon plays into M'Lynn's ongoing clashes with her daughter with a professional calm that, when it breaks, it breaks hard. And Lanie Hart is clearly having the time of her life as the obstreporous Ouiser, constantly persnickety about whatever one of the hive of bees that is in her bonnett is taking precedence at the moment.
This is a fun, intimate production of a classic play that is always welcome, with a stunning cast of some of Canberra's best actresses. So why wouldn't you rush to see it? My fear this would pale in comparison to previous productions was, to say the least, not borne out - this is a production that holds its own with integrity and strength. Much appreciated.
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