Doll Trilogy

First staged in 1955, no play has been more important to the history of Australian theatre than Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Twenty years later, Lawler returned to his lovable Carlton household and created two more plays: Kid Stakes and Other Times. Kid Stakes: A joyful portrait of the summer of the first doll, in which a chance encounter brings Olive and Emma, Roo and Barney, into the shabby Carlton terrace to begin a seventeen year journey of seasonal love and argument. Kid Stakes introduces the fun-loving Nancy, who has left the scene by the seventeenth summer, adding a new poignancy to the story. Other Times: The middle play of Ray Lawler's Doll Trilogy. Set during the Second World War, in late winter, when Barney and Roo are on leave from the army. Other Times is the fulcrum of the three plays in which the characters stop being kids and become adults. Middle age is looming and life is no longer just a game. Things are changed forever by Nancy's decision, setting the stage for Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. Summer of the Seventeenth Doll: Ray Lawler's revised script (2012) of his (and Australia's) most famous play, in which two larrikin canecutters and their women awaken to middle-age. The impact of The Doll cannot be over-stated. Its success both here and abroad was quickly recognised as a defining moment in Australian theatre history.