Top Girl

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Lister, David (18 October 1998). " 'Waiting for Godot' voted best modern play in English". The Independent . Retrieved 16 October 2020. Lady Nijo is a thirteenth-century Japanese concubine who enters the play near the beginning of act one and proceeds to tell her tale. As the most materialistic of the women, she is influenced more by the period of time before she became a wandering nun than by the time she spent as a holy woman. It may be suggested that it is her social conditioning that Churchill is condemning, not her character, as she is brought up in such a way that she cannot even recognize her own prostitution. She is instructed by her father to sleep with the emperor of Japan and reflects on it positively; she feels honored to have been chosen to do so when discussing it with Marlene in Act 1. In relation to Marlene, this may suggest that Marlene, like Lady Nijo, has not questioned the role given to her by society and merely played the part despite the consequences; as she does whatever it takes to be successful in an individualistic business environment. Not everyone has someone in their corner, and you listen to your teen daughters telling you about their deeply hurting school mates, their mental health issues, the struggles that they are having, we are clearly letting our kids down. And when we do, there are people lurking, waiting to take advantage of this. They aren't always the people you are warned about, the ones in cars who want you to see their puppies or offering you a ride home 'because your mother sent me'.

In Act Two, Scene Two, the action turns to the "Top Girls" employment agency, where Nell and Win are sharing the latest office gossip, until Marlene arrives. They then express their congratulations to Marlene for getting the top job.And now, perhaps, she has that chance with her son. She is helping others now who have found themselves in the same situation. Lady Nijo is a real-life, thirteenth-century concubine-turned-Buddhist-nun. Lady Nijo was raised from birth to live a life of sexual service to the Emperor—her own father gave her over to the Emperor, and instructed Nijo to… Tycer, Alicia (2008). Caryl Churchill's Top Girls. London, New York: Continuum Modern Theatre Guides. pp.1–23. ISBN 9780826495563.

a b "From Oedipus to The History Boys: Michael Billington's 101 greatest plays". The Guardian. 2 September 2015 . Retrieved 15 October 2020. The play ends with Angie calling for her Mum towards Marlene. It is unclear how much Angie heard of Joyce and Marlene's argument.

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Top Girl is a non-fiction, candid account of Danielle Marin, a grammar school girl turned county lines drug dealer. Danielle gives a powerful, raw, no holds barred account of life as a gang member and drug dealer. It isn’t a glamorous story, in fact it’s an ugly one, but it’s also an important one, as it shows how bad choices, mixing with the wrong crowd can lead someone down a dark and dangerous path where violence is the everyday norm. Hard-hitting, addictive, and thought-provoking, I 100% agree with the publishers when they said: "This book should be on the National Curriculum." It definitely needs to be studied by the younger generation, as Danielle's brutal honesty leaves nothing to the imagination. Despite the dark side to this tale, there is also a lighter side, where Danielle spreads the message that no matter what mistakes are made, there is always a way out, and there can be sunshine after the rain. A turning point comes when Danielle is arrested and – with the help of a probation officer – she begins to question whether she really is ‘top girl’ after all. But after five years deep in the high-earning street hustle, can she really leave it all behind? The stories of the historical women parallel the characters in the modern-day story. For example, Bird, like Marlene, got to where she was by leaving her sister to deal with family matters. Dull Gret's monosyllabic inarticulacy is comparable to Angie's. Some of these parallels are emphasised by the actors doubling the roles of the historical and modern characters. No 13 yr old should see this’ ‘no 13yr old should go for that’… when talking about fights she had witnessed. Complete agree, but she put herself into those situations.

We’d rather it was you than Howard. We’re glad for you, aren’t we Nell." - Win, Act 2, Scene 3, p. 50In his review of the 1983 Royal Court production of the play, The Guardian critic Michael Billington stated that he was convinced that Top Girls "is the best British play ever from a woman dramatist. That is not meant to be patronising". [14] He later in 1997 included the play in his list of the "10 best British plays of the [20th] Century". [15] In 2015 Billington selected the play for his list of the "101 greatest plays" ever written in any western language. [4] In 2016, he also included Top Girls in his list of "Ten great Royal Court plays", where he described the play as the "supreme achievement" of Max Stafford-Clark's era as artistic director of The Royal Court. [16] Ravenhill, Mark (9 April 1997). "Dramatic Moments: Mark Ravenhill on Top Girls". The Guardian. p.14. Dorney, Kate; Gray, Frances (14 February 2013). "1980-1989". Played in Britain: Modern Theatre in 100 Plays. Great Britain: Methuen Drama. pp.116–117. ISBN 9781408164808. When the sisters are alone, Joyce scolds Marlene for leaving town when she was younger and leaving Joyce to look after their mother and Angie, who is actually Marlene's biological child. The sisters continue to argue, and it comes out that Marlene got pregnant with Angie at age seventeen, but didn’t tell anyone about it until it was too late for an abortion. Joyce and her husband Frank offered to take the child, after being married for three years and having no children of their own. However, Joyce blames the stress of raising Angie for her subsequent miscarriage. Marlene and Joyce begin to argue about British politics, with Marlene taking the pro-Thatcher conservative side, and Joyce siding with the socialist left wing. The two change the subject and begin talking about their parents’ working class struggles and difficult marriage.

Victoria Bazin-"[Not] Talking'Bout My Generation: Historicizing Feminisms in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls." (2006) [31] Sierz, Aleks (3 April 2019). "TOP GIRLS, NATIONAL THEATRE". Aleks Sierz . Retrieved 15 October 2020. Top Girl is relatable for all readers, of all ages, with its modern and relevant tone it will appeal to YA readers, as well as those who love true crime reads. I can not praise this enough, and the awareness that Danielle brings, is not only extremely courageous, it is also very admirable. The play opens in a restaurant, where Marlene is waiting for some friends to arrive. She is throwing a dinner party to celebrate her promotion at the employment agency where she works. As the women arrive and start the meal, they begin to talk about their lives and what they did. Each of her guests is a historical, fictional or mythical woman who faced adversity and suffered bitterly to attain her goals. Lady Nijo recalls how she came to meet the ex-Emperor of Japan, and her encounter with him. While the rest of the women understand the encounter as rape, she explains that she saw it as her destiny: the purpose for which she was brought up. Within the context of Pope Joan's narrative, the women discuss religion. At this point the waitress, who punctuates the scene with interruptions, has already brought the starter and is preparing to serve the main courses. All the women except Marlene discuss their dead lovers. They also recall the children that they bore and subsequently lost. Nijo's baby was of royal blood, so he couldn't be seen with her. Pope Joan was stoned to death when it was discovered that she had given birth and was therefore female and committing heresy. Griselda was told that her two children had been killed, in a cruel test of her loyalty to her husband. After dessert, the women sit drinking brandy, unconsciously imitating their male counterparts. It was difficult to read what Danielle went through. I had a lot of opinions as I read this one, and a few I’m sure others wouldn’t agree with.

This statement is effectively Marlene’s rallying cry, and she delivers it during her argument with Joyce over politics in 1970s Britain. Marlene believes in the conservative party’s emphasis on personal responsibility and hard work, as well as the idea that class does not truly exist as a barrier to self-advancement. Her position mirrors the public statement delivered by Margaret Thatcher that only “individuals and their families” exist, not class. It also shows that Marlene fully embraces the ideology of late capitalism. Louise is a woman who comes for an interview at the Top Girls Employment Agency with Win. She is forty-six, and Win describes her age as a “handicap.” Louise is frustrated in her current… Danielle’s searingly honest book is a horrifying insight into gang violence and county lines culture.' The Sun Top Girl is the tell-all, true story of a grammar school girl turned drug dealer.