No play has been more important to the history of Australian theatre than Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
When it first hit the stage in 1955, it drew a unanimous response from audiences unused to seeing the Australian character so vividly represented.
'So superbly true to Australian thought and the Australian scene that theatrical conventions disappear', 'untransplantably Australian', 'the Australian spirit springing from the deep heart of the characters': these were some of the accolades.
Since then, the play has taken Australia's name around the world and become part of the education of every schoolchild at home. Twenty years later, Ray Lawler returned to his lovable Carlton household and created two more plays: Kid Stakes, the story of the first doll, and Other Times, about the wartime winter which proved the turning point in the life of the characters.
RAY LAWLER was thrust into prominence when his play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, in which he appeared in the role of Barney, became a hit for the Union Theatre Repertory Company in 1955, and subsequently toured with enormous success throughout Australia and to London. The Piccadilly Bushman, written in 1959, toured nationally under the J.C. Williamson banner. Lawler's other plays include Kid Stakes and Other Times (completing The Doll Trilogy in 1975), The Man Who Shot the Albatross and Godsend. Having lived abroad from 1957, Lawler returned in 1975 to serve as Literary Adviser to Melbourne Theatre Company and direct a number of productions for that company.
| Cast Info | 3F, 3M |
| Genres | Australian History, Drama, Naturalism / realism |
| Themes | Full length play, Political/Social themes, Significant female roles |
| Audiences | Adult, Secondary: Years 10-12 |
| Extent | 288 |
| Edition | Fourth |
| Size | 150 x 230mm |
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