I finally caught the production of Top Girls which I bought on a whim after catching Proof. My faith in Wessex Theater is now restored with a certain level of admiration. Top Girls was a play for to raise funds for Aware. The production was good, the actresses well done. I wouldn't say that it was the best play I have ever caught, but the style in which the playwright had portrayed the sequence of events to bring across her point is something that I admire. A trip to Kinokuniya once my salary comes in will be in place, I would love to own the script.
Top Girls start with a dinner of mythical famous women including Pope Joan, explorer Isabella Bird, Dull Gret the harrower of Hell, Lady Nijo, the Japanese concubine of an emperor and Patient Griselda, from Canterbury Tales and later moves on to a modern setting with the leading character, Marlene, involving the audience into her career and personal life.
There were many elements which struck a chord with me and explored some of my own worst fears. The pursuit to the top which leads to emptiness in the end, the tugging feeling of wanting to get away, the balance between the individual and the community, the price that we all have to pay. The play did not end on a happy ending, just a lot of questions for each woman to ask herself at the end of the day.
Going to read the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan again over the weekend..
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