The play premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London on 28 August 1982. It was directed by Max Stafford-Clark, the Royal Court's artistic director, who has premiered several of Churchill's plays. The cast was Selina Cadell, Lindsay Duncan, Deborah Findlay, Carole Hayman, Lesley Manville, Gwen Taylor and Lou Wakefield.[5]
In December of 1982, the Public Theater programmed the play's American debut, with the Royal Court Theatre cast and creative team.[6]Its run would end in 1983 with a cast of North American actresses: Lise Hilboldt (Marlene), Donna Bullock (Jeanine/Waitress/Win), Sara Botsford (Isabella/Joyce/Nell), Freda Foh Shen (Lady Nijo/Mrs. Kidd), Kathryn Grody (Dull Gret/Angie), Linda Hunt (Pope Joan/Louise), and Valerie Mahaffey (Griselda/Shona/Kit).[7]
In 1991, the BBC and Rádio e Televisão de Portugal commissioned a televised production, reuniting Deborah Findlay (as Isabella/Joyce) and Lesley Manville (as Marlene) under Stafford-Clark's direction. The rest of the cast was filled out by Lesley Sharp, Cecily Hobbs, Beth Goddard, Sarah Lam, and Anna Patrick. It first aired in the UK on 2 November,1991[8] and in the US on 3 November,1992.[9] A radio production with the same cast (directed by Hillary Norrish) aired on the BBC World Service in 1992.[10]These productions coincided with a revival at the Royal Court Theatre and a national tour in the same season.
A production ran at the Watford Palace Theatre November 2–18, 2006 before transferring to the Greenwich Theatre November 21–25, 2006. The cast included Rachel Sanders, Zoe Aldrich, Elaine Claxton, Sara Houghton, Emma Pallant, Claire Redcliffe and Hayley Jayne Standing.
During the 2007–2008 New York theatre season, Manhattan Theatre Club presented the play at the Biltmore Theatre in a production starring Mary Catherine Garrison, Mary Beth Hurt, Jennifer Ikeda, Elizabeth Marvel, Martha Plimpton, Ana Reeder, and Marisa Tomei. The production was directed by frequent Churchill collaborator James Macdonald. The MTC production marked the Broadway premiere of Top Girls, though the original Royal Court production had visited New York's Public Theater.
A 2011 revival at Chichester Festival Theatre, co-produced with Out of Joint and directed by the play's original director Max Stafford-Clark transferred to Trafalgar Studios in the West End, opening on 16 August 2011. The cast included Suranne Jones, Stella Gonet, Olivia Poulet, Lucy Briers, Laura Elphinstone, Lisa Kerr and Catherine McCormack. This production toured in the UK in early 2012, with a new cast including Caroline Catz as Marlene.
In 2019 a production was staged at the Royal National Theatre in London, starring Katherine Kingsley, Amanda Lawrence and Siobhan Redmond, and directed by Lyndsey Turner.[11]
In 2021, a Portuguese version of the play was directed by Cristina Carvalhal and presented in Queen Maria II National Theatre, in Lisbon.
In 2023 the production was staged at the Liverpool Everyman.
