Ray Lawler’s “The Summer of the Seventeenth Doll” and David Williamson’s “the Removalists” are both realistic plays. The Doll, Written in the 1950’s moved away from the melodramatic plays that preceded it, it was the first realistic play about Australian people and Australian issues. It was a leap forward for Australian drama, and in the form of a well-made-play, it presented its audience with authentic, believable, and appealing characters, establishing and exploring the complex between them. “The Removalists” was written twenty years later in the 1970’s, it too was centred very realistically on Australian people and issues. His success came from his ability to provide a certifiably accurate representation of contemporary society. Williamson placed scenes of social interaction as the structure of his plays, these scenes dramatise public behaviour between people and emphasise one person’s social attitude towards another. Both plays take play in a short amount of time (The Doll –two nights and The Removalists 2 days) and with minimal setting change (The Doll one room, the Removalists the station and Fiona’s house.) Both plays essentially are based on dull ideas, yet are brought to life perfectly by Williamson and Lawler through theatrical style and technique.
For each play dialogue and language are significant techniques used to enhance the illusion of realism. Williamson’s plays are known for their blatant and realistic language that reflects Australian society. Kenny, perhaps, is the crudest character in ‘The Removalists’; he speaks obscenely to and about his wife Fiona, “probably a twat like your bloody sister”. Williamson creates humour with his language use through outlets like repetition seen in the character of the removalist and his repeated line “I’ve got ten thousand dollars worth or machinery tickin’ over out there in the drive’. Colloquial language is used by the playwright, it’s rude and shocking but it appeals to the audience and it further aids the realism. Lawler uses colloquial language in The Doll too, most notably he uses Slang truncated sentences and abbreviations­ which all create a sense of natural speech of everyday people at the time. The way the play was spoken, (a sound technique) with Australian accents would have been a shock for the viewers in the 1950’s who were used to English accents.
In both plays the language and dialogue are significant, they are considerably what helps bring the plays to life, and help present the plays in a realistic manner.
In The Doll some important techniques that really engage the audience right from the beginning are the set, the stage directions, lighting directions and costumes. The whole play takes place the lounge room of a small Melbourne home, however it is the carefully described state of the room in the stage directions that helps to set the atmosphere for each act. For Act 1, ‘a glowing interior, luminosity protected from the drabness outside’, act two ‘a stale used look’, and act three after Olive has moved the souvenirs, the room appears ‘oddly deserted’. The very particular stage directions for the stage ensures that when the play is performed, the set helps bring the play to life. Most markedly about the costumes is with the character Pearl. She shifts from a black outfit in the beginning of the play, representing her uncomfortableness about the situation, to a bright print dress reflecting ‘her fling at the gay life’ and then back to black in act three when any chance of a relationship with Barney has passed. These specific costume changes help also to paint the atmosphere in each act.
In ‘The Removalists’, while a realistic play, is also a satire of the police force and the community in the 1970’s. Williamson uses dramatic irony to achieve this satiric view, and in turn this provides humour in the play, engaging the audience to laugh and furthermore to then question themselves and their morals as after a humorous moment, Simmonds viscously attacks Kenny. Williamson reveals the corruption in the force as Simmonds boasts of knowing very well from experience how to abuse people ‘without leaving a mark’ .Williamson also comments on the inefficiency of the force when Simmonds informs Ross he has never made an arrest or drawn a gun in 23 years of police work.
Also presented as a form of satire are the stereotypical characters presented in ‘The Removalists’. Kenny is presented as a terrible representation of the Aussie ‘Ocker’
that came to be the new ‘national identity’ in the 1970’s. His manner of speech is crude and philistine: his way of living affirms his masculinity through his hard drinking and tough talking. Conversely, Kenny’s violence, abuse and wife beating show he is Williamson’s way of commenting on the faults of males in the community. The Playwright also uses Kate and the removalist to satirise the community, highlighting their faults. Kate represents the upper-class, with her wealthy dentist husband and private schooled kids, but Kate is shown to be comparable to the lower class through her affairs and exploitation of her sister in the first Act. The removalist is another working class stereotype, and the audience is engaged to him through his humorous character, but as with Kate his faults are revealed through his racist comments and his selfishness when he does not help Kenny when he requests it.
Of course it not just these theatrical techniques alone that are able to engage audiences and present monotonous ideas colourfully. The themes presented by the playwrights are equally as important as the themes are what engage the audience on a more personal level. As previously mentioned abuse of authority is a major theme presented by Williamson in ‘The Removalists. But a theme that runs through both ‘The Doll’ and ‘The Removalists’ is the idea of mateship
The Australian Identity has undergone some significant changes which is clearly reflected in the literature and drama of the respective time . In the early nineteenth century the real Australian was a loner, working class, rural, good at manual labour, loyal and undomesticated. In the early 1930’s the ‘Larrikin’ emerged, the only changes being that he had an ironic sense of humor and a love of drink. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, post war reconstruction made the previous urban Australian redundant. By the time of ‘The Doll’ the real Australian was now a city dweller and in the 1970’s the new wave theatre produced the ‘ocker’. Throughout the 19th century, the idea that has has remained the same is ‘Mateship’.
‘In Australia, a 'mate' is more than just a friend. It's a term that implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance. Mateship is a term traditionally used among men, and it is a term frequently used to describe the relationship between men during times of challenge’ (cultureandrecreation.gov.au)
For each play dialogue and language are significant techniques used to enhance the illusion of realism. Williamson’s plays are known for their blatant and realistic language that reflects Australian society. Kenny, perhaps, is the crudest character in ‘The Removalists’; he speaks obscenely to and about his wife Fiona, “probably a twat like your bloody sister”. Williamson creates humour with his language use through outlets like repetition seen in the character of the removalist and his repeated line “I’ve got ten thousand dollars worth or machinery tickin’ over out there in the drive’. Colloquial language is used by the playwright, it’s rude and shocking but it appeals to the audience and it further aids the realism. Lawler uses colloquial language in The Doll too, most notably he uses Slang truncated sentences and abbreviations­ which all create a sense of natural speech of everyday people at the time. The way the play was spoken, (a sound technique) with Australian accents would have been a shock for the viewers in the 1950’s who were used to English accents.
In both plays the language and dialogue are significant, they are considerably what helps bring the plays to life, and help present the plays in a realistic manner.
In The Doll some important techniques that really engage the audience right from the beginning are the set, the stage directions, lighting directions and costumes. The whole play takes place the lounge room of a small Melbourne home, however it is the carefully described state of the room in the stage directions that helps to set the atmosphere for each act. For Act 1, ‘a glowing interior, luminosity protected from the drabness outside’, act two ‘a stale used look’, and act three after Olive has moved the souvenirs, the room appears ‘oddly deserted’. The very particular stage directions for the stage ensures that when the play is performed, the set helps bring the play to life. Most markedly about the costumes is with the character Pearl. She shifts from a black outfit in the beginning of the play, representing her uncomfortableness about the situation, to a bright print dress reflecting ‘her fling at the gay life’ and then back to black in act three when any chance of a relationship with Barney has passed. These specific costume changes help also to paint the atmosphere in each act.
In ‘The Removalists’, while a realistic play, is also a satire of the police force and the community in the 1970’s. Williamson uses dramatic irony to achieve this satiric view, and in turn this provides humour in the play, engaging the audience to laugh and furthermore to then question themselves and their morals as after a humorous moment, Simmonds viscously attacks Kenny. Williamson reveals the corruption in the force as Simmonds boasts of knowing very well from experience how to abuse people ‘without leaving a mark’ .Williamson also comments on the inefficiency of the force when Simmonds informs Ross he has never made an arrest or drawn a gun in 23 years of police work.
Also presented as a form of satire are the stereotypical characters presented in ‘The Removalists’. Kenny is presented as a terrible representation of the Aussie ‘Ocker’
that came to be the new ‘national identity’ in the 1970’s. His manner of speech is crude and philistine: his way of living affirms his masculinity through his hard drinking and tough talking. Conversely, Kenny’s violence, abuse and wife beating show he is Williamson’s way of commenting on the faults of males in the community. The Playwright also uses Kate and the removalist to satirise the community, highlighting their faults. Kate represents the upper-class, with her wealthy dentist husband and private schooled kids, but Kate is shown to be comparable to the lower class through her affairs and exploitation of her sister in the first Act. The removalist is another working class stereotype, and the audience is engaged to him through his humorous character, but as with Kate his faults are revealed through his racist comments and his selfishness when he does not help Kenny when he requests it.
Of course it not just these theatrical techniques alone that are able to engage audiences and present monotonous ideas colourfully. The themes presented by the playwrights are equally as important as the themes are what engage the audience on a more personal level. As previously mentioned abuse of authority is a major theme presented by Williamson in ‘The Removalists. But a theme that runs through both ‘The Doll’ and ‘The Removalists’ is the idea of mateship
The Australian Identity has undergone some significant changes which is clearly reflected in the literature and drama of the respective time . In the early nineteenth century the real Australian was a loner, working class, rural, good at manual labour, loyal and undomesticated. In the early 1930’s the ‘Larrikin’ emerged, the only changes being that he had an ironic sense of humor and a love of drink. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, post war reconstruction made the previous urban Australian redundant. By the time of ‘The Doll’ the real Australian was now a city dweller and in the 1970’s the new wave theatre produced the ‘ocker’. Throughout the 19th century, the idea that has has remained the same is ‘Mateship’.
‘In Australia, a 'mate' is more than just a friend. It's a term that implies a sense of shared experience, mutual respect and unconditional assistance. Mateship is a term traditionally used among men, and it is a term frequently used to describe the relationship between men during times of challenge’ (cultureandrecreation.gov.au)
