What would happen if a modern British woman, a 13th century Japanese concubine, a world traveler of the Victorian era, a female pope, a medieval housewife and a figure from one of Breughel's paintings all met for a dinner party? This is examined in the first scene of the UC Berkeley Department of Theater, Dance and Performance Studies' latest production of Caryl Churchill's play "Top Girls." Written and set in the 1980s, the British play is meant as a criticism of the ruthlessly individualistic feminism that became popular in England and the United States under the governments of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan.

In performing "Top Girls," Director Christine Nicholson and the vibrant, all-female cast take on a rather strange and apparently difficult script. Because the play is characterized by disconnected and non-chronological scenes, the plot is a bit hard to piece together at first. It opens on the aforementioned meeting of women, both historical and fictional, from different time periods at a sort of purgatorial dinner hosted by Marlene, an English businesswoman who has called the party in celebration of her recent promotion. Marked by memorable performances, the dinner party scene is the high point of the production. Brittany Berg's Victorian traveler, Isabella Bird, is marvelous: Her worldly self-obsession is both hilarious and disconcerting. Fantastic as well was Beryl Baker's portrayal of the medieval peasant and Brueghal figure, Dull Gret. She spends most of dinner smugly sneaking food off the table. When she does speak near the end of the scene, she is captivating. As each tells their life story, it is gradually revealed that they have all given up part of themselves to achieve some sort of ideal.

Sacrificing oneself in order to advance in society is exactly what Marlene has done, as is revealed throughout the rest of the play. Set now in reality, the rest of the performance details how Marlene has abandoned her relationship with her family and ultimately forsaken her identity in order to pursue success in her professional life. Caitlin A. Evenson's Marlene is worth noting. Being the only actress to play the same role throughout the production, she never falters from the believable character she has created.

However, it is unfortunate that the story arc presented in the second part of play is simply not as engaging as the previous dinner party scene. The pacing of the acting and speeches in the last few scenes becomes tedious, and the way in which the characters interact with each other becomes a bit repetitive. It's not to say that the actresses featured in these scenes are not capable; it's just that the nature of the script and the directing made the scenes less engaging in comparison to the first scene.

An especially interesting feature of the production was the use of several various accents amongst the characters. Marlene's upper class accent in comparison with the unrefined country accent of her sister Joyce further emphasizes the fact that she has deserted her origins. The quality of the accents is likely the result of hard work on parts of both the actress and the vocal coach.

The production is sound and well run on the technical side; the dynamic and boldly graphic red-and-black set makes scene changes appear effortless. And the beautiful costumes cannot go unnoted. So although "Top Girls" is a bit uneven in that it reaches its high point very early on, based on the strength of the performances, it is still able to raise interesting questions about women in society at the heart of the play.