There doesn't seem to be any other reviews on this play, so thought I'd be the first!
Currently studying this play for my English course at uni and am enjoying it. An original plot and the all-female cast gives an interesting feminist dimension to it.
The first act is my favourite. A group ... Read review
Marlene hosts a dinner part in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing ... more
director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831-1904) the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258) the m...
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Advantages: Original ideas (esp act one) and humorous at times, fast-paced Disadvantages: probably better seen in performance
There doesn't seem to be any other reviews on this play, so thought I'd be the first! Currently studying this play for my English course at uni and am enjoying it. An original plot and the all-female cast gives an interesting feminist dimension to it. The first act is my favourite. A group of famous female figures from the past are at a dinner party to celebrate main character Marlene's promotion at work. They all talk about their lives ... ...They become increasingly drunk which provides humour to the scene. I've not seen this play in performance, but i imagine this scene would be highly entertaining to watch. Acts two and three deal with the consequences of social and economic female emancipation (a hot topic at the time of publishing). The characters of Marlene's sister, niece and workmates are introduced and whilst men are discussed in conversation, there are still no actual ... more
There doesn't seem to be any other reviews on this play, so thought I'd be the first! Currently studying this play for my English course at uni and am enjoying it. An original plot and the all-female cast gives an interesting feminist dimension to it. The first act is my favourite. A group of famous female figures from the past are at a dinner party to celebrate main character Marlene's promotion at work. They all talk about their lives excitedly, interrupting each other and commenting on each other's stories. They become increasingly drunk which provides humour to the scene. I've not seen this play in performance, but i imagine this scene would be highly entertaining to watch. Acts two and three deal with the consequences of social and economic female emancipation (a hot topic at the time of publishing). The characters of Marlene's sister, niece and workmates are introduced and whilst men are discussed in conversation, there are still no actual male roles. Without explaining the entire play in detail, I will simply mention that it is simple yet thought-provoking, covering issues such as feminism and social class.
Advantages: An interesting,thought provoking play Disadvantages: a bit too feminist and references to Thatcher made in it!
TopGirls by CarylChurchill 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 topgirls and her other play serious money. TopGirls 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 ‘TopGirls’ 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 that ...
Advantages: Thought provoking, uncompromising, novel Disadvantages: Difficult to read!
This offering from feminist playwright CarylChurchill is an uncompromising critique of the capitalist mode of feminism as advocated by the model of the eighties power women, most obviously personified by Margaret Thatcher.
'TopGirls' deploys an interesting technique whereby characters narratives overlap leading to complicated scenarios wherein meaning is lost in the melee of competing voices. It certainly makes for difficult listening or reading but acts uniquely as a physical representation of the interupted and disjointed histories of the women whose situation it aims to ameliorate.
The play is split into three main sections. The first act witnesses the meeting of various fictional and non-fictional characters from history, literature and art at a dinner party. The party has been organised to celebrate the recent career success ...
Advantages: imaginitive, to say the least, great plot Disadvantages: maybe a little too feministic
I first read TopGirls 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~
CarylChurchill 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 'TopGirls' employment agency. She has no real guests to invite because she's spent her entire life and energy ...
Product Information for "Top Girls - Caryl Churchill" »
Product details
EAN
9781408106037
Type
Non-Fiction
Genre
Arts & Music
Subgenre
Theatre
Title
Top Girls
Author
Caryl Churchill
Release Date
16-Jul-12
ISBN
1408106035
Manufacturer's product description
A revised student edition of a classic modern play, Top Girls is seen as a benchmark for ushering in a new generation of playwrights after it was premiered by the Royal Court in 1982. Marlene hosts a dinner party in a London restaurant to celebrate her promotion to managing director of 'Top Girls' employment agency. Her guests are five women from the past: Isabella Bird (1831- 1904), the adventurous traveller; Lady Nijo (b1258), the mediaeval Japanese courtesan who became a Buddhist nun and travelled on foot through Japan; Dull Gret, who as Dulle Griet in a Bruegel painting, led a crowd of women on a charge through hell; Pope Joan, the transvestite early female pope and last but not least Patient Griselda, and obedient wife out of Chaucer. As the evening continues we are involved with the stories of all five women and the more pressing dilemmas of Marlene herself. 'Top Girls has a combination of directness and complexity which keeps you both emotionally and intellectually alert. You can smell life, and at the same time feel locked in an argument with an agile and passionate mind.' John Peter, Sunday Times
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