Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a play written by Australian playwright Ray Lawler, and first performed on November 28, 1955. The play is very popular in Australian culture, as it was a breakthrough for true Australian theater. For one of the first times ever, there was a play that gave the life and only the life of Australian characters, rather than British, French, or American characters that were so common in earlier plays. The play has a plot that details a group of adults and children that partake in a odd tradition concerning dolls.
Born in 1921, Ray Lawler is an Australian playwright that forever changed the direction of Australian drama. By far, his most famous and influential play was Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, which was followed by two other plays that were set earlier, which were Kid Stakes and Other Times. In the premier of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Lawler acted a part as Barney. The play has received numerous awards, including first prize in the Playwright Advisory Board Competition.
