Overview

Synopsis

Set in the early 1980s, Top Girls depicts the lifestyle and life choices of its central character, Marlene. She is a successful career woman, who has just received a major promotion, and has unequivocally fought her way to the top. Famously using iconic female, historical figures, the play explores the realities of being female and the potential price of achieving success. The play is nonlinear in its structure, highlighting the different sides of being a thriving career woman in the 1980s. In the opening act, Marlene hosts a dinner party for several famous, female figures from history and literature, including the Victorian British explorer Isabella Bird, Pope Joan, and Patient Griselda from Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. The unlikely group discuss their own histories and reflect on what being a female meant for them in their own time. As the play moves on to focus on high-flying Marlene, it becomes clear that her professional success has irreparably damaged her personal life. Her relationship with her sister, Joyce, is strained and distant, while Joyce’s daughter, Angie, does not realize that Marlene is actually her mother. Leaping back and forth in time, Marlene attempts to make sense of her life and come to terms with the mistakes she has made in the past.

Editor’s Note: The actresses in this play normally play multiple roles, apart from the actress playing Marlene.

Show Information

Book
Caryl Churchill
Category
Play
Age Guidance
Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
Number of Acts
3
First Produced
1982
Genres
Drama, Dark Comedy, Historical/Biographical
Settings
Fantasy/Imaginary, Simple/No Set
Time & Place
uk, 1980s
Cast Size
large
Orchestra Size
None
Ideal For
All-Female Cast, Small Cast, Includes Adult Characters, Large Cast

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Marlene

Lead

Female

Spoken

Isabella Bird

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Lady Nijo

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Dull Gret

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Pope Joan

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Angie

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Joyce

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Nell

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Win

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Kit

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Shona

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Louise

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Jeanine

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Mrs. Kidd

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Patient Griselda

Supporting

Female

Non-singer

Waitress

Featured

Female

Silent

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

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Scenes

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Key Terms

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Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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Guide Written By:

Alexandra Appleton

Alexandra Appleton

Writer, editor and theatre researcher