The play "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" was written by Ray Lawler in the 1950's which was a time of crucial development within Australia. The play is written in colloquial English and is very Australian. It was the first decade in a long time without war, depression and drought and life in Australia was finally improving. "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" or "the Doll" as it has been nicknamed, is an interesting play of mainly six characters but the audience get to know a seventh character Nancy although she never makes an appearance. The main characters are: Olive, Emma (Olives mum), Roo or Reuban (Olives boyfriend of seventeen years), Barney, Bubba and Pearl.
             "The Doll" is about changes, growing up, hope, growing old, staying together, expectations and holding on to the past. For seven months of the year, Roo and Barney go up to the North of Australia in Queensland to cut cane. Roo is considered one of the best cane cutters in their area and is one of the Ganger's who is the leader of the other cane cutters in his group. Whilst the boys are away, Olive lives with her mum in Melbourne, waiting for the time when the boys come back for five months for the laying-off season and they can all spend time together as they have been for the last seventeen years. Olive believes these five months to be the best of the year and talks them about them continuously to make an outsider, Pearl, wonder what their life is all about and want to join in all the fun they seem to have.
             Although even from the very start of the play, the audience can see that this year things seem to be different. The play starts with Bubba making candy canes, which are a tradition, talking to Pearl, who has never met Roo and Barney before, about Nancy's wedding. The noticeable part of how things are different is when Bubba mentions "the only one who went to the wedding...Olive wouldn't have anything to...