A production of the contemporary play Top Girls will hit the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts in downtown St. Catharines in March.
Written by playwright Caryl Churchill, Top Girls takes a critical look at women and their relationship to power and success.
The show will run for eight days, from March 2 to March 10.
First produced in 1982 and last seen in Niagara at the Shaw Festival in 2015, this time around the production is being presented by Brock’s Department of Dramatic Arts, directed by assistant theatre professor Danielle Wilson.
Top Girls tells the story of Marlene, a career-driven woman in 1980s London whose only interest is business success.
“The plot takes Marlene to a dinner party with five women from history, literature and art, and as the drinks begin to flow, so do their stories of family, adventure and loss, which overlap in witty and humorous dialogue. Throughout the play, we also meet the real-life women in Marlene’s life who struggle to rise to the top of the corporate ladder, but are held back by lack of opportunity and the harsh competitiveness of the business world,” said Brock news release.
“Top Girls examines themes that are extremely topical such as the challenges of working women who choose self-promotion and career over motherhood, family and domesticity. It highlights the contradictions between feminism and capitalism.”
In addition to Wilson directing, students from the school include Michelle Mohammed as assistant director, Alicia Marie Bender and Whiney Braybrook-Byl as stage managers andHelena Ciuciura, Emma McCormick, Samantha Mastrella, Meryl Ochoa, Manchari Paranthahan, Catherine Tait and Kristina Ojaperv as performers.
The production will also enlist the help of community professionals including set designer Nigel Scott, costume designer Kelly Wolf, lighting designer Jennifer Jimenez, music composer Max Holten-Andersen and dialect coach Jane Gooderham.
Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays (March 2, 3, 9 and 10) at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday March 4 at 2 p.m. There will also be a special presentation for high school students on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for students and seniors, $10 for groups and $5 through the eyeGo high school program and are available through the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre Box Office online, by calling 905-688-0722, or via email at, boxoffice@firstontariopac.ca.
