 | Top Girls is a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill. It depicts the life of Marlene, a hard-bitten career woman who is employed at the 'Top Girls' employment agency, and her interactions with her family she left behind. Marlene left her working class background to pursue financial success, leaving her illegitimate child with her apparently infertile sister, Joyce. |
| During the 2007-2008 New York theatre season, Manhattan Theatre Club presented the play at the Biltmore Theatre in a production starring Mary Catherine Garrison, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Ikeda, Elizabeth Marvel, Martha Plimpton, Ana Reeder, and Marisa Tomei. The production is directed by frequent Churchill collaborator James Macdonald. The MTC production marked the Broadway premiere of "Top Girls." The play is set in Britain and implicitly condemns the increasing incidence of Thatcherite values in society, and especially their effect on Feminism. Churchill has stated that the play was inspired by her conversations with American feminists: it comments on the contrast between American feminism, which celebrates individualistic women who acquire power and wealth, and British socialist feminism, which involves collective group gain. In addition, there is also a commentary on Margaret Thatcher, the then Prime Minister, who also celebrated individualism and believed in Reaganomics. Marlene the tough career woman is portrayed as soulless, exploiting other women and suppressing her own caring instincts in the cause of success. The play argues against the style of feminism that simply turns women into new patriarchs and argues for a more socialist feminism that is about caring for the weak and downtrodden. The play questions whether it is possible for women in society to combine a successful career with a thriving family life. | |
The Country Girl Top Thurgood |
