Review: Top Girls at People’s Theatre Newcastle

“…relatable and passionate production…”

Top Girls by Caryl Churchill, People’s Theatre Newcastle

by Kay Wilson

This play by Caryl Churchill was written in 1981 and explores women’s place in society both in history and the 80s, with the consistent answer: it wasn’t great. In the intervening 44 years you could wonder what will still be relevant. The answer is: far more than people (women in particular) could have wished.

I found this play really thought-provoking as it shone a light on historical female figures and the impact of men on their lives. Some of these women I’d never heard of before, and probably should have done, but that’s often history for you.

The room was set up with the audience seated on two sides making the actors’ performances intimate, with off-stage whispers delivered close at hand in a confessional way. From the outset the audience is in no doubt this will be an unusual feminist play. Action starts with a celebration meal for the central figure, career girl Marlene’s promotion, very well played by Sara Jo Harrison.

However, this is no ordinary party. There are women from all over the world and from different centuries including Pope Joan, Lady Njo from Japan and explorer Isabella Bird. They discuss their lives and the influence of men on them, in particular their children and infanticide.

The script has the women talking over each other at some moments which was sometimes a bit tricky to follow but it did add to the realism of the speeches. There were some brutal descriptions of treatment by men, then there was a welcome shift with a good dose of humour mainly via the character of Dull Gret, based on a woman depicted in a Bruegel painting. She was played by Sarah McLane, who gave a great performance, reminding me of the comedy style of Daisy May Cooper.

Action then shifted to the 80s and a back yard. There were a two girls, Angie and Kit, played with great maturity by Myah Rose Wilson and Zoe Brissenden Lang respectively, talking about their home lives. It transpires Angie’s aunt is the ambitious Marlene and her mother Joyce, is her sister. Kay Edmundson is very powerful in the role of Joyce and takes you on a journey of discovery about her character’s background, moving from stern matriarch to someone who engenders sympathy.

The third scene in a recruitment agency, gave an interesting insight into employment in the 80s, depicting women as unsuitable for promotion and cold-hearted if they pursued managerial careers. Marlene holds centre stage in this business and her, and her colleagues’ interviews with various candidates, gave us portraits of women held back by patriarchal views, including the need to keep quiet about getting married or wanting children.

In the final scene the tension is ramped right up as the two sisters Marlene and Joyce begin to get drunk and speak the truth about their lives – from childhood and since. Politics comes out along with the divisive nature of Margaret Thatcher’s policies, where the individual was encouraged to suit themselves at the wider society’s expense.

Marlene and Joyce are the personification of the different attitudes and the impact on family life. There are revelations aplenty with the audience rapt as secrets come tumbling out that could blow lives apart if revealed.

At the heart of this play is a firm view that women’s role in society has been one of subjugation and a fixed inability to change that, even over many centuries, because of men’s attitudes.

Credit to the directors Kath Frazer and Sue Hinton as well as designer Luke Durham, for this imaginative and effective play. The points are well-made in this relatable and passionate production, where tension builds and the audience is left with plenty to think about.

Top Girls plays at People’s Theatre Newcastle until Saturday 15 February. Tickets are available here.

Kay Wilson is a North East-based writer. She won Runner-Up in the Self-Published category at the Comedy Women in Print awards for her debut novel, The Stand-Up Mam. It was inspired by her own experience of performing comedy for two years and charts the adventures of a perfect mother who does stand-up. It transforms her but blows up family life. Described as ‘hilarious and heart-warming’, signed copies can be bought at The Bound bookshop, Whitley Bay. The novel is also available on Amazon here. Kay has a website which promotes extraordinary women and gives updates on her writing life.