“The single most significant development in

“It was in the 1970s that women writers of the British theatre in the decade 1968 to 1978 was
calibre of Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, the rise of socialist theatre.” -BIGSBY
Michelene Wandor and Mary O’Malley finally
emerged.” -BIGSBY

“For some women, Thatcher’s ability to rise to

the top of a male-dominated political system,
despite the prejudices she encountered because
“The aim of historicisation is to contrast
of her gender, was inspiring” - BUSH different forms of behaviour between different
times. When performance is historicised, the
“Thatcher’s election prompted Churchill to develop audience is invited to considered why people
this play in combination with other ideas she was behaved differently at differently at different
mulling over at the time”. -BUSH times.” -DAVID BARNETT

“A group of women who […] fail to come together

in a moment of collective imagination that might
allow them to come to terms with their common
oppression. The difficulty of such an act is
recognized, from the beginning, in the women’s
differing class backgrounds.” - KRITZER

“The women are largely self-centredly caught

up in their own individual narratives. Their
inability to listen to and to share experiences
with women is indicative of intrasexual
oppression.” -ASTON

“In Top Girls the use of overlap is a sign of

the female voice.” -ASTON AND SAVONA