THE play of Steel Magnolias starts with gunshots ringing round the auditorium. It’s an American man – father of Shelby the bride – demonstrating his right to bear, and discharge, arms, this time at the birds in the fruit trees and the magnificent old oaks surrounding his Louisiana property, so they don’t mess up the grass for the wedding.

You never see him in the play, which has a six-strong female cast (and strong’s the word). The men are peripheral in Robert Harling’s play, getting its second airing at Yeovil’s Swan Theatre under the watchful eye of director Robert Graydon. Following a successful production in 2004, the director wanted to give another cast the chance to play these unforgettable characters. It is the 1980s and we meet them on four occasions, in April, December, June 18 months later and in November. During that time some of the great milestones of life are passed, testing the support and strength of the womens’ closely bonded and interdependent relationships.

Once again the Swan company has attracted a powerful group of talented actors. There are no make-weight parts in Harling’s tribute to his diabetic sister, who died from complications during her pregnancy. Not only are they required to explore the gamut of human emotions, but to do it in Deep Southern accents – something Carys Clayton, Lesley Evans, Esther McDermott, Sarah Nias, Liz Stallard and Steph Warner-Wolfe manage with convincing aplomb.

Lesley Evans tears the heart out of the audience with her famous “big speech”, never sinking into sickly sentimentality, and Sarah Nias, who only joined the cast a fortnight before the opening night, has chosen to play Truvy not only with wit and wisdom, but a raunchy sauce. Carys Clayton is an authentic Annelle, perhaps the most elusive character in the play.

Steph Warner-Wolfe joins the Swan from Yeovil’s celebrated musical companies, creating a determined Shelby. Liz Stallard’s Ouiser is the archetypal grumpy old Southern woman, and one with a heart of gold, and the cast is completed by Esther McDermott as wealthy widow Clairee.

Steel Magnolias takes its audience on a journey, and one whose resonances are universal. You have to laugh – you have to cry – and you have to laugh again. It’s not a bad lesson.

Harling was a recent law graduate and wannabe actor when he wrote Steel Magnolias. It started as a short story which he later adapted for the stage. He then wrote the screenplay for what became an international hit film. A young Julia Roberts played the role of Shelby, a diabetic who died after giving birth and a failed kidney transplant. And Dolly Parton played Truvy, the hairdresser and beautician in whose converted garage salon the play is set.

Robert Graydon returns to the play with fortuitous timing, just as Dolly Parton’s death united the world, with top ten hits around the globe and even a Last Night of the Proms spot – I’m sure she’s gleaming with delight.

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