IT’S somewhat depressing to watch a play almost four decades old, set in a particularly politically turbulent time in British history, and ponder at the end of it how little things have changed.

But that’s perhaps why Top Girls is one of Caryl Churchill’s most celebrated works, one that has been regularly performed throughout Britain since first written.

The National’s production is a far cry from the play’s Royal Court 1982 premiere, when a cast of six performed all 18-odd roles. It’s one of the first professional revivals to use different actors to play all the various characters and, while this might avoid any momentary confusion for audiences, it doesn’t necessarily do the play justice.