ad

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

The Melbourne Theatre Company begins its 2012 season with a new production of an Australian classic; Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, written by Ray Lawler.

The play is set in Carlton in the summer of 1953, marking the seventeenth year of an annual tradition for Roo and Barney: two sugarcane cutters who travel south to Melbourne each year for five months of free-spirited “carry-on” with two Carlton barmaids, Olive and Nancy.

But back for their seventeenth summer, they discover Nancy has gotten married, and she is not present in the play, so Olive has arranged for her friend, Pearl to partake so as to continue the foot loose and fancy free tradition.

As the play progresses it becomes clear that this summer is not what it seems as time has finally caught up with them, scenes filled with tension play out as they try to recreate their lost youth and the fun from the previous years. Ultimately, characters are threatened by the prospect of lifestyle changes and an uncertain future bubbles underneath their being.

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll was first performed in Melbourne in 1955. It is one of the first naturalistic Australian theatre productions, considered one of the most historically significant in our theatre history, with its portrayal of the Australian way of life and its characters.

The play is seen in the Australian literary canon as a work that defines our dramatic literature and is seen as a symbol of our “cultural maturity” in both form and Australian identity.  

The historical significance of the play can be seen by looking at Australian drama in the early part of the 20th century. Here, our commercial theatres were not risk takers in regards to new Australian plays, so there was “Buckley’s chance” of seeing your work performed as an Australian playwright.

An amateur scene started to grow which was influenced by social realism but it was mainly middle class and socialist. However, some dramas were written between the 1920s and 1950s which became known as uniquely Australian with their harsh settings but they had little success.

A lack of funding was commonly seen as the reason shows were not developed and given professional productions and reaching wider audiences. Theatre historians argue that besides these institutional problems, Australian literary drama faced the dilemma of presenting a national self-consciousness inherited from the European dramatic tradition.

Peter Fitzpatrick saw this because: “The play brings elements of the outback play (the bushman stereotype and the values of mateship and physical prowess) into the domestic interior of classic European naturalistic theatre.”

Lawler’s “Summer of the Seventeenth Doll” shifts between the framework of European naturalistic style and shifts in the representation of national identity, challenging the notion of our national identity by his ability to combine melodramatic social stereotypes with the naturalistic conventions of complex character construction.

Cast includes: Steve Le Marquand, Robyn Nevin, Helen Thomson
Director: Neil Armfield

When: Thursday, January 12 to Saturday, February 18, 2012. Contact: mtc.com.au  or phone: 1300 182 183

Join our Facebook Group
ad