Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
by Ray Lawler
Director: Martin Gibbs 0411 645 003 or email: mandcgibbs@tpg.com.au.
Audition Venue: Unit 8/417-419 Warrigal Road, Cheltenham.
Audition Dates: Sunday 19 March at 2.00pm (and Tuesday 21March 7.30pm (if needed TBC)
SYNOPSIS:
The most famous Australian play and one of the best loved, SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL is a tragicomic story of Roo and Barney. Beautifully observed, humorous, and poignant, Ray Lawler’s much-loved play is a tale of two Queensland cane cutters who for 16 years have worked up north in the brutal sugar cane fields and travelled back to Melbourne to meet up for five months of partying and romance with their barmaid girlfriends. AussieTheatre.com said: “SUMMER OF THE SEVENTEENTH DOLL is an iconic Australian work that should remain an important part of our Australian theatre-going repertoire and cultural education.”
A director of nearly 50 productions, some of Martin Gibbs’s previous productions at Mordialloc include GASLIGHT, THE ENTERTAINER, THE COLLECTOR, THE SHOEHORN SONATA, VISITING MR. GREEN, ALBERT NOBBS, AUSTRALIA DAY and MR. BAILEY’S MINDER.
THE CAST:
Bubba Ryan – 22. Shy next door neighbour.
Pearl Cunningham – probably early 40’s. Widow, biggish woman, a barmaid.
Olive Leech – 39. A barmaid with an eagerness that properly belongs to extreme youth
Emma Leech – approaching 70. A wizened, life battered wisp of a woman, with no life illusions.
Barney Ibbot – 40. Shorter than Roo. Confident, but rough around the edges.
Roo Webber – 41. A man’s man with a streak of gentleness. Confident.
Johnnie Dowd – 25. Big, boyish friendly looking.
The above ages and descriptions are what the playwright has scripted and are a guide only. We are looking for actors who look right, and who can play the ages stated and not necessarily be that age. So please don’t be deterred from auditioning.
It is necessary that you are familiar with the play when you come to the auditions.
Copies of the script can be obtained by phoning or emailing the director.
Please advise if you will be attending and on what day you would like to make a booking.
Season Dates: June 16, 17, 18*, 22, 23, 24**, 25*, 29, 30, July 1, 2023
Rehearsals are two nights a week and Sundays at times to be decided and will commence 25 April TBC.
Mordialloc Theatre Company 