Women Without Men

The UK premiere after more than 80 years.

“Look at us. A small group of women all cooped up together with no release from each other save in the privacy of our bedrooms. Women brought together not by liking, but by the necessity of earning our living.”

Ireland in the 1930s.When enthusiastic young teacher Jean Wade arrives at Malyn Park Private School, she thinks she’s landed on her feet: lively pupils, cosy staffroom, and a room of her own. But her high ideals and friendly manner bring her into conflict with the sharp-tongued staff, whose cloistered existences are consumed by jealousy, bickering and petty feuds.

When a colleague’s precious manuscript is destroyed, Jean’s future comes under threat, but she soon realises the truth isn’t always black and white.

With a cast of eleven women and an all-female production team, Women Without Men is a frank, affecting picture of working women in a man’s world. Laced with biting wit, it asks just what women must sacrifice to preserve our independence.

A stunning early play by a pioneer female playwright, Women Without Men was originally produced at the Gate Theatre, Dublin in 1938, and was first rediscovered by Mint Theatre Company in New York City in 2016 where it was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play. This production marks the play’s first UK production, and the first European production for more than eighty years.

This production of Women Without Men is part of an ongoing informal sharing partnership between the Finborough Theatre and the Mint Theatre Company, New York City (Artistic Director Jonathan Bank), which, like the Finborough Theatre, specialises in bringing forgotten plays to a new audience. Previous productions include the Mint Theatre’s 2014 revival of John Van Druten’s London Wall, following its rediscovery at the Finborough Theatre in 2013.