"This 1938 play, which the Mint has resurrected under Jenn Thompson’s direction, is a mostly sturdy and occasionally creaky construction about the perils of a circumscribed life...Ellis, an Irish playwright, is expert in depicting the minutiae of relations among the women, the use of pet names without pet feelings, the flimsy loyalties and jealousies...The acting is generally skillful, though the three younger actresses playing schoolgirls don’t yet seem quite at home in this world."
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"Overbey and Walton put their hearts into this juicy contretemps. But there’s absolutely no grandstanding in director Jenn Thompson’s beautifully composed ensemble piece. Individually, the performances are distinctive, but the collective work of the company is even more impressive. Ellis’ voice is as tart as her wit, and the players clearly relish the surprisingly contemporary tone of an 80-year-old period play."
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"An exemplary ensemble plays out Ellis' sharp and clever dialogue without the benefit of a modern eye. The reality that this imperfect situation was often the only alternative to marriage adds a dark texture to highly-polished proceedings. As is often the case with Mint discoveries, 'Women Without Men' offers a fascinating peek into how theatre has always been used to address contemporary issues."
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“A sharply observant comedy-drama filled with crackling ironies, a craftily worked-out mystery, and an astringently unsentimental point of view...Ellis was gifted with a remarkably mature vision, allowing her to capture her characters in all their pettiness while deftly, unsentimentally laying bare the social dilemma that entraps them…This production shows the Mint doing what it does best: finding long-lost works that remain remarkably stageworthy today."
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"'Women Without Men' is a smart, involving, skillfully crafted play...Some of the action and character relationships in the play might be viewed as soap opera-ish...But the whole enterprise is elevated by the exceptional quality of Ellis's writing and the superb Mint production. Jenn Thompson's direction of the play could not be improved upon, and across the board, the acting is extraordinarily good."
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"In addition to getting solid performances out of her actors, director Jenn Thompson has created a nice touch by using the students' songs for the between scenes pauses...Despite Ms. Thompson's best effort this dour group portrait does tend to have slow spots that may have some audience members wishing some of the chatter could have been trimmed. But paring these forgotten plays down to a more modern length isn't the Mint way."
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"The Mint Theater Company has become famous for revivals of lost or forgotten masterpieces from the world repertory. Now it has found an unpublished Irish play by the little known author Hazel Ellis that proves to be both fascinating and involving. 'Women Without Men', produced at Dublin’s Gate Theatre in 1938, is receiving its American premiere with a taut production by Jenn Thompson and a remarkable all-female ensemble of 11."
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"The story is surprisingly fresh and modern...Swiftly and smartly directed by Jenn Thompson, 'Women Without Men' moves quickly and never lags...Thompson understands Ellis’ script and has crafted a more than worthy production to showcase her writing, as well as the distinct talents of the cast...This play is definitely worth a visit for anyone concerned with gender parity in theater, and specifically with the work of an excellent 'lost' female playwright."
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