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 ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3828-1904 2016, 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 , Royal Exchange Theatre.

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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.

Item Type:	Other
Schools:	Schools > School of Arts & Media > Arts, Media and Communication Research Centre
Publisher:	Royal Exchange Theatre
Funders:	Non funded research
Depositing User:	Dr Sheila McCormick
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2016 11:40
Last Modified:	27 Aug 2021 20:25
URI:	https://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/38165

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