A Number - Caryl Churchill

Advantages: imaginitive, to say the least, great plot
Disadvantages: maybe a little too feministic

...I first read Top Girls when I was about 15 years old and my mum (an English student at the time) forced me to sit through the video with her...I ended up watching it at least another ten times after that and then reading the play a number of times too. 24th Aprl 2004 - I reread this play through the past week especially for ciao. You honoured? I should think so too, lol ;') ~The Playwright~ Caryl Churchill was born in 1938 and grew up in the Lake District and Montreal, Canada. She wrote her first play, Downstairs, at university, and has since written several more, many of which staged at top theatres. ~The Story~ Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. She has no real guests to invite because she's spent her entire life and energy... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Thought-provoking, intriguing.
Disadvantages: Depressing and sometimes uncomfortable.

...FEN is an thought-provoking piece, centering on a tight community in the fens of east England. The play suggests at being set in 1980's, and whilst it sounds very 'fluffybunny-lambs-buttercups-please close the gate' type of play, it is far from it. The play has a very dark side, and deals with issues such as child abuse, suicide, seperation, and first and foremost the plight of the farming economy and life in the country. The playwright is Caryl Churchill, one of the leading feminist writers of recent years. Her most well known play is perhaps Top Girls, in which actress Gwen Taylor has performed in. Her style in many plays, including Fen, is often experimental, and to research Fen she spent a lot of time in the rural parts of Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and East Anglia. This was with the theatre... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: An interesting,thought provoking play
Disadvantages: a bit too feminist and references to Thatcher made in it!

...Top Girls by Caryl Churchill is a special play to me because I performed it as part of my A Level assessment at college and later found that I had to write a 3,000 word assignment on it in my third year at Uni. This was of course a bonus having studied the text before! Churchill is very big on anything to do with money. Several of her plays focus around this including top girls and her other play serious money. Top Girls is set in the 1980’s in the Thatcher years and takes a look at the role of women in these times. The play focuses upon two sisters Marlene and Joyce. Marlene owns the recruitment agency ‘Top Girls’ and is a highflying businesswoman. She believes that anybody can achieve anything if they work properly and have ambition and drive. Marlene is a successful women who is driven by power. At the time... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful