A SAMUEL FRENCH, LTD. TITLE
Top Girls
Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 7w
Caryl Churchill's hilarious, groundbreaking, gritty play about the fictional “Top Girls” employment agency begins with a time-warped luncheon attended by women in legend or history offering their perspectives on maternity and ambition.
Image: 2008 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Joan Marcus)
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Cast Size
7w -
Duration
120 minutes (2 hours) -
Target Audience
Adult
Accolades
Winner! 1983 Obie Award for Best Play
Winner! 1983 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play
Details
Summary
Marlene has been promoted to managing director of a London employment agency and is celebrating. The symbolic luncheon is attended by women in legend or history who offer perspectives on maternity and ambition. In a time warp, these ladies are also her co-workers, clients, and relatives. Marlene, like her famous guests, has had to pay a price to ascend from proletarian roots to the executive suite: she has become, figuratively speaking, a male oppressor, and even coaches female clients on adopting odious male traits. Marlene has also abandoned her illegitimate and dull-witted daughter. Her emotional and sexual life has become as barren as Lady Macbeth's.
History
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
- Time Period Contemporary
- Setting
A restaurant, Joyce's backyard, “Top Girls” Employment Agency, Joyce's Kitchen.
- Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
- Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
- Cautions
- Alcohol
Media
“Very funny and provocative... A mind-lifting experience.” – The New York Post
“A blistering yet sympathetic look at women who achieve success by adopting the worst traits of self-made men... Truly original.” – The New York Times
ON BREAKING CHARACTER
10 Caryl Churchill Plays to Read
by Maria Arroja Ferreira
October 30, 2019
Photos
Image: 2008 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Joan Marcus)
Image: 2008 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Joan Marcus)
Licensing & Materials
- Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.
Please submit a license request to determine availability.
Authors
Caryl Churchill
Caryl Churchill was born on 3 September 1938 in London and grew up in the Lake District and in Montreal. She was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. Downstairs, her first play written while she was still at university, was first staged in 1958 and won an award at the Sund ...