Rachel Porter (Annelle Dupuy), Helen Fullerton (Truvy Jones), Anni Tosh (Clairee Belcher), Jennifer Kirby (Shelby Eatenton), Claire Bibby (M'Lynn Eatenton) and Marion Small (Ousier Boudreaux)

Set in the sleepy heart of the Deep South, Steel Magnolias follows the trials and tribulations of six women in the town of Chinquipin, Louisiana. Through three years leant over the basins at Truvy’s Hair Salon, we witness the celebrations of marriage, the joys of birth, and the heartbreak of loss. Packed full of anecdotal witticisms, homemade recipes for life and love both in and out of the oven, this sharp slice of American life is one of most charming and poignant comedies ever to be produced.

After its theatrical success it was adapted into an award-winning Hollywood film starring Julia Roberts and Sally Field.

So take a seat, grab your rollers, and just remember: “There’s no such thing as natural beauty.”

Steel Magnolias marks the eleventh production from Black Ram Theatre, bringing to East Anglia one of the funniest comedies to ever make you cry. Essential summer viewing.

Black Ram Theatre is an old school repertory theatre company based in Norwich. They specialise in revitalising classic works, using young and up and coming actors and fresh takes on established theatre.

This tour is a prelude for their upcoming show One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, an adaptation of the classic novel and the basis for the cult film starring Jack Nicholson.

Black Ram is one of the leading touring theatre companies in East Anglia, and has just completed its most successful tour to date with a production of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, receiving rave reviews and playing to sell-out audiences across four counties.

"Revolving around the lives of six close friends, Steel Magnolias is a play that needs to draw the audience in as co-conspirators from the word go and the Black Ram Theatre Company production succeeds brilliantly.

Set in a small town hairdressing and beauty salon in the American Deep South, the lead is superbly played by Jennifer Kirby as Shelby, a diabetic about to marry a rich southern lawyer whose family just love “huntin' and killin' small furry things!”

Running the salon is Truvy (Helen Fullerton) a warm-hearted romantic who insists that there is no such thing as natural beauty '…or I'd soon be out of business'.

Joining Selby in the salon is her mother M'Lynn (Claire Bibby whose brilliant portrayal of a mother's grief had us in tears of sympathy), Clairee (Anni Tosh), Ouiser (Marion Small) and Annelle Dupuy (Rachel Porter).

An excellent script, delivered with superb timing, had us laughing out loud. A truly unmissable performance."

Vicky Turner, Norfolk On My Mind:

"When The Black Ram Touring Company contacted us with an invitation to watch one of their plays, my hubby selected ‘Steel Magnolias’. My first comments when he told me what we were going to see, were 'Oh no! Not that? You know it’ll make me cry!' Being a sucker for a weepy tale when I was in my dim and distant youth, I find that as the years have crept by, I have become more and more muir-hearted and prefer to be assured of a ‘happy ending’ before I embark on any theatre trip, lest I become a quivering mess at the climax. However, try as I might, hubby was not budging and it was off to the atmospheric Granary Theatre at Wells that we headed on a warm July evening, resigning myself to keep an English ‘stiff upper lip’ even if it killed me.

We were lucky enough to have front row seats and I was quite amazed that we were going to be just inches from the actors, and their set, which consisted of just simple scenery and the mock hairdressing salon that would be the one place the whole story revolved around. As the actors came on, one at a time, I was wowed by the authentic, thick southern accents and immediately transported to the Deep South and, even quicker, into the lives of the people before me. (I hasten to endorse my choice of terminology here – people not actors…)

As the production unfolded, the details of the play came back to me but this time, I felt much more than I had done when I had seen the film version all those years previous. One of the predominant themes that runs through the story is undoubtedly the comedy – the characters, in all their different ways, all add a wonderful light-heartedness against the vein of sorrow that threads its way through each and every one of those six women’s lives. Each has their own personal hurdle to overcome – they begin the play as widows, side-lined wives, maligned mothers and down-trodden daughters – the events of the play see them emerge as women that have had to make difficult choices. But although the events are tinged with great sadness for them all, there is an undeniable feeling of personal triumph by the close of the final scene. Again, the humour is so strong and uplifting, even in the heart-wrenching conclusion, which further solidifies the bond and strength of all these complex but beautiful characters.

The atmosphere in the theatre was both hushed and electric at the same time – I can honestly say that this is the only play I have seen in years where someone has not seen fit to get up in the aisle and visit the lavatory at the most poignant moment! We were all glued to our seats – men and women alike were gripped. Sadly, the play came to its closing stages and I am ashamed and proud at the same time, to admit that I was crying my eyes out. Even my husband had a glazed look in his eye as he hurriedly tried to compose himself as the lights went up. It has to be testimony to these brilliant actors that brought this tale to life; they portrayed so vividly the character and emotion that made the intangible link into all our personal life experiences in some form or another.

Standing ovation for Ross McGregor and his direction of his clearly talented team of both cast and crew alike. I very much wished that as the play drew to a close I could press rewind and just start the whole thing over again. Once was not enough to take in all that this performance had to offer. We have since booked-up to see Black Ram’s production of ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ in the early Autumn. Personally, I really can’t wait – I would recommend this great theatre company to anyone and feel that they will just carry on captivating their audiences with their genuine and clean interpretations of some great drama for many years to come.

Mary Dunk, Suffolk Free Press:

"In the close atmosphere of Truvy Jones’ beauty salon, in the American Deep South, the wisecracks come thick and fast. We learn that a gentleman is one who manages to take the dishes out of the sink before he pees into it, and that to have one’s tattoos at least spelt correctly is a social advantage. The deeply pinked-up décor matches the sometimes over-blown hairdos of the six feisty regulars who bring in not just themselves, but their lives for regular attentions. Just like magnolias, valued by gardeners for their longevity and exquisite fragrances, these steely women don’t like their roots to be disturbed. The horticultural metaphor is spot-on.

Jennifer Kirby as Shelby, preparing for her wedding, spars with her pushy and over-protective mother M’Lynn, played by Claire Bibby. Their sensitive development of a deeply moving mother/daughter relationship, moving from humour to real pain and sacrifice in the face of childbirth and terminal illness, anchors this drama.

All the characters have endured personal loss, but find ways forward with the intense friendship and support of the eccentrically assorted group. Ironically, Truvy’s belief that there is no such thing as natural beauty is belied by the beauty and warmth of their mutual trust. Helen Fullerton enables Truvy’s exuberantly overdressed, and immensely likeable, personality to burst into life.

The outside world comes into the salon, the only setting presented over a couple of years. The inevitably disappointing men in their lives may be physically absent, but are very much available for withering analysis. We learn that Ouiser Bordeaux, adamant that men are out after experiencing the double blow of bad marriages and ungrateful children, develops a reluctant interest in an old flame. Trapped by southern conventions, where women grow tomatoes because they just do, she emerges to face broader horizons.

Marion Small gives charm to this outspoken and blunt woman. Annelle Dupuy turns from the lost new trainee dumped by a delinquent man (to whom she may or may not have been married), to find God in a serious way. Mothered by Truvy, she blooms from being a figure of fun to a mature woman and expectant mother. Rachel Porter approaches this exhilarating role with humour and determination. Anni Tosh’s Clairee, who makes the journey from widowhood to real independence and strength, not only follows football but ends up buying up a radio station to broadcast the sport. Her personal growth was sensitively presented.

Black Ram drive this classic on full throttle. Transplanting a well-known film to the stage is always a challenge, but Ross McGregor’s direction, and the consistent enthusiasm of the cast always reap rewards. The production is a splendid treat."

Terry Reeve, Beccles & Bungay Journal:

"This is a play which grows on you as it evolves - at first you are not sure whether it will stimulate you and fully capture your interest, but as it goes on you find yourself fully caught up in the characters, their worries, stresses, foibies and humour. That is how Robert Harling has woven it - the comedy is gentle and warming and merges into the concern and then poignancy as the story deepens into huge sadness.

The all female cast of six, diverse human beings who come together at the hair salon of Truvy Jones in Louisiana, had the skill to bring out all the relationships and individual worries, with Helen Fullerton as Truvy deliciously capturing the Deep South accent and outlook. She obviously relished the role.

Jennifer Kirby is currently studying for a drama degree at the UEA and her impressive performance as Shelby Eatenton will be valuable on her CV - a mature portrayal of the ill-fated girl planning to marry.

As her mother M'Lynn, Claire Bibby was equally controlled and convincing, particularly in the later stages of the story.
Rachel Porter was Annelle Dupuy, new assistant at the salon and lacking in confidence, and she developed the role well as she becomes integrated and then becomes a practicing Christian.

Anni Tosh is Clairee Belcher, recently widowed and coming to terms with that and trying to rebuild her life, while Marion Small is Ouiser Boudreaux, she of the acerbic scowls but an element of wisdom. They both produced measured performances in the close-knit team in a production directed by Ross McGregor.

This is true comedy as opposed to farce, and as thought-provoking as a straight play - all the characters are trying to come to terms with new identities, either thrust upon them or out of choice. Most enjoyable."

Vanessa Moon, Colchester Gazette:

"Black Ram Theatre Company seem to produce a gem every time they perform.  Their most recent outing, at the Headgate Theatre in Colchester, was with Steel Magnolias, an emotional mix of humour and sadness wrapped in a good old-fashioned story, which left my friend and I dissecting the characters for hours afterwards. 

Not having seen Robert Harling's semi-biographical play or the film version starring Julia Roberts, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Set in a beauty shop in a southern American town of Chinquapin, Louisiana, the story follows a group of six women - new naive hairdresser Annelle Dupuy (Rachel Porter), her bubbly boss Truvy Jones (Helen Fullerton), widow Clairee Belcher (Anni Tosh), headstrong mum M'Lynn Eatenton (Claire Bibby), her equally headstrong daughter Shelby (Jennifer Kirby), and much loved but cantankerous Ouiser Boudreaux (Marion Small) - who each have their own drama and secret which unfolds with perfect timing.

The cast manage to hold the southern accents together for the duration, with Jennifer Kirby particularly convincing as the tragic Shelby.  For a one-set play, when the majority of dialogue is the everyday tittle-tattle and gossip enjoyed by most women, the performance revealed a great deal about who these women were deep down.  What made Steel Magnolias so successful was that anyone would be able to find someone in their lives that they could relate to each of the characters.  They were wholly believable.

When a performance evokes tears and laugh-out-loud moments in the audience, Black Ram should know they are doing something right."