Top Girls plays at Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts

Friday evening I attended the opening night performance of Caryl Churchill's famous 1982 play Top Girls at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts.  It was the latest presentation by the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock University, which calls the downtown campus home.

Top Girls is directed by Danielle Wilson, on the Faculty at MIWSFPA and the cast is made up of students in the Department of Dramatic Arts.  The play is being presented in the small but exceptional theatre space within the Walker complex in downtown St. Catharines.

Wilson has assembled a strong cast for this production, all female of course, and each one of them shines as they uncover the nuances of each individual role.  Each cast member, seven in all, perform multiple roles, with the exception of Helena Ciuciura in the pivotal role of Marlene, the seemingly successful career woman who has snagged the top job at the Top Girls Employment Agency.

To celebrate her achievement, she throws a lavish dinner party at a trendy restaurant attended by several mythical or fictional characters from history, each showing strength in a variety of ways as they each arrive at some level of social achievement.  The now-famous, dreamlike opening scene gets rather raucous at times as the wine and brandy flow and each woman talks about their climb up the social ladder and what it took to get there, including at the expense of personal relationships.

The historical figures include Isabella Bird, a Victorian traveler based in Edinburgh, Scotland; a courtesan to a Japanese Emperor named Lady Nijo; Pope Joan, who posed as a man in order to gain the papacy, only to be stoned to death when her secret was revealed; Dull Gret, a figure of Flemish folklore who comes across as a Wagnerian heroine; and Patient Griselda, the obedient and subservient wife of a Marquis in Chaucer's "The Clerk's Tale" in The Canterbury Tales.

After the opening scene the action moves to present-day and largely deals with life at the Top Girls Employment Agency, where Marlene has successfully beaten out a man for the top position.  That fact causes a bitter exchange between her and Mrs. Kidd, the wife of Howard, who was passed over for the promotion in favour of Marlene.  Mrs. Kidd suggests, of course, Marlene should step aside in favour of Howard, who was devastated to lose out to a woman now doing 'a man's job.'  You can imagine the outcome...

The final, pivotal scene between Marlene and Joyce, who we find out has raised Marlene's illegitimate daughter Angie at the expense of her own child she was carrying due to the stress, is the climax to the play.  While drinking, the two rail at each other about a number of things, but most especially the future of young Angie whom we suspect doesn't know Marlene is actually her mother.  That is, until the very end of the play.

The play is very much a product of its time, touching on British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's brand of conservatism known as "Thatcherism" and even the Falklands War between Britain and Argentina in the spring of 1982.  But the subject matter is timeless and certainly relevant to today with director Wilson questioning in her programme notes if women have really come a long way since the 80s or not.

There is a lot to like about this production, from the sleek, modern set design to the simple use of props following the opening scene.  Costumes are especially impressive, with lots of creativity demonstrated both with the historical figures and the career women at the agency.

Performances are uniformly good, with Ciuciura's Marlene especially strong.  But others in the cast are also impressive including Manchari Paranthahan as Pope Joan, Jeanine and Nell, and Catherine Tait as Dull Gret, Mrs. Kidd and Joyce.

Wilson directs with a steady hand and firm grasp of the subject matter at hand, so the play never lags from start to finish.  The only annoying aspect of the play, and I know how relevant it is to the action how it is being presented, is how the actors talk over themselves in the opening scene.  Oftentimes you cannot absorb all the dialogue with more than one or two actors speaking at once.

But overall, this is a strong production showing the potential of a new generation of actors in our midst, and the Department of Dramatic Arts should be suitably proud.

Top Girls continues until March 9th at the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine & Performing Arts, with evening performances at 7:30 and a Sunday matinee this afternoon at 2.  Call the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre box office at 905-688-0722 for details and to purchase tickets.

Have a great weekend!

March 4th, 2018.