- Ray Lawler
Raymond Evenor Lawler (born
23 May 1921 , Footscray, Victoria) is an influentialAustralia n actor, dramatist and producer. His most notable play was his tenth, "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll " (1953), which had its premiere inMelbourne in 1955. The play changed the direction of Australian drama. [ [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9047408/Ray-Lawler "Ray Lawler." Encyclopedia Britannica.] retrieved December 8, 2006] The story of "The Doll" is preceded by "Kid Stakes", set in 1937, when the characters of "The Doll" are children, and then "Other Times", which is set in 1945 and includes the same characters.Biography
Ray Lawler was born in Footscray,
Melbourne , in 1921, second of eight children of a council worker. He left school at thirteen to work in a factory and attended evening acting classes. He wrote his first play at the age of nineteen.He first attracted attention as a writer in 1952 when his play "Cradle of Thunder" was presented by the National Theatre Competition. In 1955, "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" gained first prize in the Playwright Advisory Board Competition with
Oriel Gray ’s "The Torrents" and was subsequently presented by the Union Theatre. Lawler played the role of Barney at the premiere of "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" in 1955. [Ibdb name|id=8256] The play was taken up by theAustralian Elizabethan Theatre Trust and presented in all Australian states as well asLondon and New York. It won theEvening Standard Award for the best new play on the London stage in 1957. Since then it has been translated into many languages and performed in many countries.Lawler went to London with the cast and lived in
Denmark ,England and then inIreland . "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll" was followed by "The Piccadilly Bushman" (1959), presented in Australia byJ. C. Williamson ’s and published byAngus & Robertson (1961); "The Unshaven Cheek", presented at the 1963Edinburgh International Festival ; and "A Breach in the Wall", about StThomas Becket (televised in 1967 [Imdb title|0437881|A Breach in the Wall (1967)] , produced atCanterbury in 1970).In 1972 he visited Australia for the
Melbourne Theatre Company ’s production of "The Man Who Shot the Albatross", a version of the Governor Bligh story; and then in 1975 returned to settle in Australia as associate director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, with an agreement to complete a trilogy based on "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll".The first play, "Kid Stakes", opened in December 1975 and the second, "Other Times", in December 1976. "The Doll Trilogy" had its first full performance at the Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, on 12 February 1977.
Ray Lawler is married to Jacqueline Kelleher, a former
Brisbane actress. They have three children and three grandchildren.References
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