Illness not as a metaphor : simplicity and kindness
in Margaret Edson’s WIT Programme Note, WIT By Margaret Edson, Directed by Raz Shaw. Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. 21 January 2016 - 13 February 2016

McCormick, Sheila

Abstract

WIT is a play outstanding in its exploration of the human condition and the
possibility for enlightenment. In her play, Edson introduces Professor Vivian
Bearing, distinguished scholar of 17th-century English poetry. Through the
course of the play, the character moves from a position of authority to one of
dependence, gaining a deeper understanding of self in the process. The
temptation would be to analyse this enlightenment as something achieved
through suffering, to read the professor’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer as a
catalyst for catharsis. Agreeing with Sontag however, I will argue it is not the
illness itself, but Bearing’s humanity in the most dehumanising of social
spaces that allows enlightenment through the acceptance of simplicity to occur.

Citation

in Margaret Edson’s WIT Programme Note, WIT By Margaret Edson, Directed by Raz Shaw. Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. 21 January 2016 - 13 February 2016

• Other Type: Other
• Acceptance Date: Jan 10, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 21, 2016
• Deposit Date: Mar 22, 2016
• Related Public URLs: https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/whats-on-and-tickets/wit