Galway a highlight as Mischa tours with 'Steel Magnolias'

When you cast your mind briefly back to Mischa Barton’s irrepressible and irresistible character Marisa Cooper in the popular Fox television show The OC, you will remember her disturbed rock and roll lifestyle and ultimately her untimely death in the season three finale.

Fast forward seven years, the Hollywood beauty is making her Irish stage debut with the Solar Theatre’s production of Steel Magnolias, playing ‘sweet girl’ Shelby Eatenton, a million miles away from her former troubled teenage character.

Written by Robert Harling in memory of his beloved sister Susan, who died from diabetes, the stage play Steel Magnolias is the predecessor to the well-known and much loved 1980s film, which starred Sally Field, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah, and Julia Roberts.

Starring alongside Barton in this production, which is directed by Ben Barnes, is Australian actress Anne Charleston, better known for her role as Madge Bishop in Neighbours and later as Lily Butterfield in Emmerdale, who plays the rich curmudgeonly Ouiser.

Set in Truvy’s exclusive Beauty Salon in the town of Chinquapin, Louisiana, where six Southern ladies of varying age come to have their hair and nails done, it’s a heart-warming tale of love, loss and the enduring bond of friendship. The title describes the complexity of the main female characters; how they can be as delicate as magnolias and as tough as steel. The magnolia refers to a magnolia tree they are arguing about in the opening scene.

The characters in the all female play are witty, funny and real. Barton plays Shelby, a diabetic and the daughter of local socialite M’Lynn, who is played by The Tudors actress Barbara Brennan. The play opens in Truvy’s salon on the day of Shelby’s wedding and moves towards tragedy as she risks her own life for pregnancy.

The beauty and fragility of Shelby’s life has a profound effect on the rest of the women and, as she becomes increasingly ill, they all come together to show the underlying strength of love and friendship shared.

Speaking of her character, Mischa Barton describes Shelby as her “favourite character” and a dream to play a “sweet girl who has good intentions at heart”.

“Shelby really is a ball of light in the show, she battles with heartache but her mum is her rock who tries to lead her on the right path. She is a joy to play, always with good intention in her heart.”

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.