Wit is the name given to a theater play written by the American Playwright Margaret Edson and which premiered in 1995 in the South Coast Repertory Costa Mesa, in California. The play was then sent to different theaters and was played in theaters all over America. In some places and also on the cover of the printed form of the play, the name of the play is written with a semicolon replacing the ‘’i’’.
The play is a one act play and it has as its main character a university teacher suffering from ovarian cancer. The teacher, Dr. Vivian Bearing reflects on her condition and thinks about the English poet John Donne and his obsession with wit in poetry and life in general. The play ends with the main character’s death and with her reflections about life and death in general.
The play was very well received and was awarded numerous prizes such as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1999, Best New Play from the New York Drama Critic’s circle. The play was also adapted into a movie in 2001.
