The Doll Trilogy: Part 3 – Summer of the Seventeenth Doll 1953

For sixteen summers, Roo and Barney have returned to Melbourne to share a life of laughter, love and independence with Olive and Nancy. But this seventeenth summer feels different. Nancy is gone, Roo is weary, Barney restless, and Olive is determined to live on her own terms. Emma, now sharp-eyed and unsentimental, sees how choices echo across generations.

Bubba longs for her turn in the spotlight, while Pearl – brought in by Olive in an attempt to replace Nancy – becomes an unwitting catalyst for reckoning.

Lauded as a defining monument of 20th-century Australian theatre, Ray Lawler’s The Doll Trilogy charts the transformation of a nation through the intimate lives of Roo, Barney, Olive, Nancy, and those around them.

Lawler’s masterful writing brings working-class Melbourne to life with warmth, humour, and sensitivity, beautifully realised by Red Stitch. The characters embody idealism, disappointment, and resilience against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Australia. Whether you’re encountering Lawler’s characters for the first time or revisiting them with fresh eyes, The Doll Trilogy promises an unforgettable theatrical journey – one that speaks to who we were, who we are, and how the past continues to shape us.