Top Girls’ offers one of theatre’s most honest portrayals of what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated world.
New Theatre’s production of Caryl Churchill’s TOP GIRLS which previewed in Sydney on Tuesday 9 July, was a huge success.
TOP GIRLS is a bold, ingenious and highly original work that is both splendidly funny and deeply moving. Written in 1982 and based loosely on the hard-line economic and social policies of Margaret Thatcher, it is now recognised as a contemporary classic.
New Theatre decided it was perfect timing to revisit Churchill’s seminal play, because in essence it remains frighteningly topical. Often, for women to survive and flourish in a demanding career, they must make a number of personal sacrifices, but at what cost?
The recent political demise of Australia’s own ‘Top Girl’, Julia Gillard, with much of the accompanying commentary focussing on whether gender played a part in the events, has also made the themes and situations interrogated by Churchill resonate with a new strength.
Featuring a top cast, including NIDA graduates Julia Billington and Sarah Aubrey, both making their New Theatre debuts, TOP GIRLS will take you on a journey of career-orientated Marlene and her battle to get to the top.
TOP GIRLS is directed by Alice Livingstone (The Weir, A Couple of Poor Polish-Speaking Romanians), with set and costumes designed by young AADA graduate Gina Rose Drew, lighting designed by Sara Swersky (4000 Miles, Punk Rock, Lord of the Flies) and sound designed by Ash Walker.