Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Encyclopedia
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a pioneering Australian play written by Ray Lawler
and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne
, Australia, on 28 November 1955. The play is almost unanimously considered by scholars of literature to be the most historically significant in Australian theatre history, openly and authentically portraying distinctly Australian life and characters. It was one of the first truly naturalistic "Australian" theatre productions.
and it details the events of the summer of 1953, in the lives of six central characters. The structure of the play is such that the nature of these characters and their situation and history is not revealed immediately, but rather gradually established as the story unfolds. By the end, the story and all its facets have been indirectly explained.
The summer that the story spans marks the seventeenth year of an annual tradition in the lives of the characters, wherein two masculine sugarcane cutters, Arthur "Barney" Ibbot and Reuben "Roo" Webber, travel south to Melbourne for five months of frivolity and celebration with two city women, Olive Leech and Nancy (bringing with them as a gift a kewpie doll
, hence the name). One of the women, Nancy, has apparently gotten married just months ago, and she is not present in the play, so in her place Olive has invited Pearl Cunningham to partake in the tradition. The other women present in the play are Kathie "Bubba" Ryan, a 22-year old girl who has been coveting Olive and Nancy's lifestyle from her neighbouring house almost all her life, and Emma Leech, Olive's cynical, irritable but wise mother. Olive was always a feisty child and whenever she is performing she is nothing but aggressive to her audience members.
As the play progresses, it becomes obvious that, for many collective reasons, this summer is different to others; it is full of tensions, strains to recreate lost youth and, from what is said of previous years, not a fraction of the fun that others have been. Steadily things become worse; Roo is revealed to be broke and unemployed, disillusioned with his age and weaknesses, while relations between him and Barney are in doubt, due to a recent question of loyalty. The situation is agitated in part by Pearl's uptight indignation and refusal to accept the lifestyle she is being presented with as "proper" or "decent".
The play ends with a bitter fight between Olive and Roo after he proposes marriage to her and she is affronted, threatened by the prospect of any lifestyle other than the one to which she is accustomed. In the final scene, the two men leave together, the summer prematurely ended and the characters' futures uncertain.
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is part of a trilogy
generally referred to as the Doll Trilogy; the story of The Doll is preceded by the prequel
s Kid Stakes (1975), set in 1937, which tells the story of the first year of the tradition and the origin of the gift of the kewpie doll, and Other Times (1976), which is set in 1945 and includes most of the same characters.
and Queensland
, returning to Sydney for an encore season, and featured the following cast:
, Liverpool and Edinburgh before opening in London on 30 April 1957, with the following cast:
for Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions – whose first film had been Marty
with Ernest Borgnine
– for United Artists
in 1959
. The film was retitled Season of Passion
for the American market. This decision was severely lamented by some fans of the play, whose complaints were rooted in three essential criticisms:
Ray Lawler
Raymond Evenor Lawler is an influential Australian actor, dramatist and producer. His most notable play was his tenth, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll , which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The play changed the direction of Australian drama...
and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, on 28 November 1955. The play is almost unanimously considered by scholars of literature to be the most historically significant in Australian theatre history, openly and authentically portraying distinctly Australian life and characters. It was one of the first truly naturalistic "Australian" theatre productions.
Plot
The play is set in Australia, in the Melbourne suburb of CarltonCarlton, Victoria
Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
and it details the events of the summer of 1953, in the lives of six central characters. The structure of the play is such that the nature of these characters and their situation and history is not revealed immediately, but rather gradually established as the story unfolds. By the end, the story and all its facets have been indirectly explained.
The summer that the story spans marks the seventeenth year of an annual tradition in the lives of the characters, wherein two masculine sugarcane cutters, Arthur "Barney" Ibbot and Reuben "Roo" Webber, travel south to Melbourne for five months of frivolity and celebration with two city women, Olive Leech and Nancy (bringing with them as a gift a kewpie doll
Kewpie Doll
"Kewpie Doll" can refer to any of the following:*Kewpie doll , a particular style of doll, awarded as a carnival prize and often collected*"Kewpie Doll ", a song recorded by Perry Como and Frankie Vaughan, among others...
, hence the name). One of the women, Nancy, has apparently gotten married just months ago, and she is not present in the play, so in her place Olive has invited Pearl Cunningham to partake in the tradition. The other women present in the play are Kathie "Bubba" Ryan, a 22-year old girl who has been coveting Olive and Nancy's lifestyle from her neighbouring house almost all her life, and Emma Leech, Olive's cynical, irritable but wise mother. Olive was always a feisty child and whenever she is performing she is nothing but aggressive to her audience members.
As the play progresses, it becomes obvious that, for many collective reasons, this summer is different to others; it is full of tensions, strains to recreate lost youth and, from what is said of previous years, not a fraction of the fun that others have been. Steadily things become worse; Roo is revealed to be broke and unemployed, disillusioned with his age and weaknesses, while relations between him and Barney are in doubt, due to a recent question of loyalty. The situation is agitated in part by Pearl's uptight indignation and refusal to accept the lifestyle she is being presented with as "proper" or "decent".
The play ends with a bitter fight between Olive and Roo after he proposes marriage to her and she is affronted, threatened by the prospect of any lifestyle other than the one to which she is accustomed. In the final scene, the two men leave together, the summer prematurely ended and the characters' futures uncertain.
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is part of a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
generally referred to as the Doll Trilogy; the story of The Doll is preceded by the prequel
Prequel
A prequel is a work that supplements a previously completed one, and has an earlier time setting.The widely recognized term was a 20th-century neologism, and a portmanteau from pre- and sequel...
s Kid Stakes (1975), set in 1937, which tells the story of the first year of the tradition and the origin of the gift of the kewpie doll, and Other Times (1976), which is set in 1945 and includes most of the same characters.
Melbourne
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll had its world premiere on 28 November 1955, where it opened at the Russell Street Theatre in Melbourne, Australia. This production of the play was directed by John Sumner and featured the following cast:- Roma Johnston as Pearl Cunningham
- Fenella Maguire as Kathy "Bubba" Ryan
- June JagoJune JagoJune Jago was an Australian actress.She made her stage debut in Australia and came to Britain in the 1950s with a touring production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll...
as Olive Leech - Ray LawlerRay LawlerRaymond Evenor Lawler is an influential Australian actor, dramatist and producer. His most notable play was his tenth, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll , which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The play changed the direction of Australian drama...
as Barney Ibbot - Carmel Dunn as Emma Leech
- Noel FerrierNoel FerrierNoel Ferrier AM was an Australian television personality, stage and film actor, raconteur and theatrical producer. He had an extensive theatre career which spanned over fifty years.-Biography:...
as Roo Webber - Malcolm Billings as Johnnie Dowd
Sydney
The play opened in Sydney, Australia, approximately two months later, on 10 January 1956, this time with a different cast:- Madge Ryan as Pearl Cunningham
- Fenella Maguire as Kathie "Bubba" Ryan
- June Jago as Olive Leech
- Ray Lawler as Barney Ibbot
- Ethel Gabriel as Emma Leech
- Lloyd BerrellLloyd BerrellLloyd Berrell was a New Zealand actor who played Roo in the original Sydney production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. He worked extensively in Australian radio and theatre, and appeared in a large portion of the few films being shot locally at the time...
as Roo Webber - John Llewellyn as Johnnie Dowd
Country tour
On 28 January 1956 a thirteen-week country tour of the play was announced, commencing on 14 February. The play toured New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, returning to Sydney for an encore season, and featured the following cast:
- Yvonne Lewis as Bubba Ryan
- Jacqueline Kott as Pearl Cunningham
- June Jago as Olive Leech
- Robert Levis as Barney Ibbot
- Ethel Gabriel as Emma Leech
- Kenneth Warren as Roo Webber
- Keith Buckley as Johnnie Dowd
United Kingdom
After the final Sydney show of the play's country tour, The Doll moved to the United Kingdom, where it spent two weeks showing in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, Liverpool and Edinburgh before opening in London on 30 April 1957, with the following cast:
- Fenella Maguire as Bubba Ryan
- Madge Ryan as Pearl Cunningham
- June Jago as Olive Leech
- Ray Lawler as Barney Ibbot
- Ethel Gabriel as Emma Leech
- Kenneth Warren as Roo Webber
- Richard PrattRichard Pratt (Australian businessman)Richard J. Pratt was a prominent Australian businessman, chairman of the privately-owned company Visy Industries, and a leading figure of Melbourne society. In the year before his death Pratt was Australia's fourth-richest person, with a personal fortune valued at billion...
as Johnnie Dowd
New York
Encouraged by its more-than-warm reception in Australia and Britain, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll took a trip to America, where audiences and critics were, most likely due to drastic cultural differences, rather underwhelmed with the production. The play opened in New York City on 23 January 1958, with no changes made to the cast. The Doll only ran a five-week season in America.Film adaptation
After continuing to tour Australia through 1958, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll was adapted by Les NormanLes Norman
Leslie A. Norman was a British director and producer. His career spanned nearly fifty years, from 1930 until 1978, and in that time he tried his hand at many different jobs, including editor, producer, and writer...
for Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions – whose first film had been Marty
Marty (film)
Marty is a 1955 American film directed by Delbert Mann. The screenplay was written by Paddy Chayefsky, expanding upon his 1953 teleplay of the same name. The film stars Ernest Borgnine and Betsy Blair. The film enjoyed international success, winning the 1955 Academy Award for Best Picture and...
with Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
– for United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
in 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
. The film was retitled Season of Passion
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (film)
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a 1959 Australian-British film directed by Les Norman and is based on the Ray Lawler play Summer of the Seventeenth Doll...
for the American market. This decision was severely lamented by some fans of the play, whose complaints were rooted in three essential criticisms:
- The "Americanization" of the text, namely the casting of American actor Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, who played his character (Roo) with an American accent. Others have thought the film was a recruiting film for migrants with the Englishman John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Barney and Alan Garcia as Dino, an Italian friend and fellow cane cutter who does not feature in the play. The female leads were played by Anne BaxterAnne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as The Magnificent Ambersons , The Razor's Edge , All About Eve and The Ten Commandments .-Early life:...
and Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, though the film featured many Australian actors. - It was filmed in Sydney rather than Melbourne.
- The drastic changes to key plot points, namely the alternate, "happy" ending that the 1959 film adaptation entailed. This alternate ending was considered by some to be representative of a dire misunderstanding of the play and its message, and by others an attempt to make the film an international success at the box office and critical acclaim similar to the kitchen sink realismKitchen sink realismKitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
of Marty. The producers also added a comedy sequence where a young girl attempted to trick Roo in a tent at Luna Park.
Most recent productions
- 1965: Sydney's Q Theatre stages a production of The Doll, one in which Ethel Gabriel, a member of the cast for nearly a decade, gave her last performance as Emma
- 1973: The Nimrod Theatre CompanyNimrod Theatre CompanyThe Nimrod Theatre Company, in Nimrod Street, Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia, was founded by in 1970 by John Bell, Richard Wherrett and Ken Horler, and gained a reputation for producing more "good new Australian drama" from 1970 to 1985 than any other Australian theatre company...
stages a production with Bill HunterBill Hunter (actor)William John "Bill" Hunter was an Australian actor of film, stage and television. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two Australian Film Institute Awards.-Early life:Hunter was a son of William and Francie Hunter... - 1974: The Queensland Theatre CompanyQueensland Theatre CompanyThe Queensland Theatre Company was established in 1970 as the Royal Queensland Theatre Company. The Company is the state's flagship professional theatre company, headed up by multi-award winning playwright and director Wesley Enoch...
stages a production - 1977: The Melbourne Theatre CompanyMelbourne Theatre CompanyThe Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
revives the play as part of The Doll Trilogy (featuring prequels Kid Stakes and Other Times) - 1988: Queensland's La Boite Theatre CompanyLa Boite Theatre CompanyLa Boite Theatre Company is a major Australian theatre company based in Brisbane, Queensland. La Boite is the second largest theatre company in Queensland. Established in 1925, it occupies an important place in Queensland’s cultural history. It is known for its bold, contemporary approach towards...
stages play in August directed by Don Batchelor. - 1988: Sydney Theatre Company production travels overseas to New York
- 2008: The play is staged in May by Queensland's La Boite Theatre Company.
- 2009: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll produced at Sydney's New TheatreNew Theatre (Newtown)The New Theatre is an independent theatre company in the inner western Sydney suburb of Newtown, Australia. Established in October 1932, it is the oldest theatre company in continuous production in New South Wales...
- 2011: Belvoir produces Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, directed by Neil ArmfieldNeil ArmfieldNeil Geoffrey Armfield AO is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.Born in Sydney, Armfield was the youngest of three boys. The son of a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's biscuit factory he was brought up in the suburb of Concord adjacent to Exile Bay...
.
Critiques
External Links
- 'Playing the 20th century - episode four: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll', Radio National, 9 January 2011
- Jane Cousins, 'Gender and Genre: The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll', Continuum: The Australian Journal of Media & Culture vol. 1 no 1 (1987)
- Article on Summer of the Seventeenth Doll at History of Australian Theatre
- Listing of Australian productions at AusstageAusstageAusStage is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today...