Theatre/Converse Closes Season with Cancer Production
Theatre/Converse will close its 2006-2007 season with the Pulitzer Prize winning “Wit” by Margaret Edson April 27-29 and May 2-5 in Hazel B. Abbott Theatre which is on the second floor of Wilson Hall. Curtain times are 8 p.m. each evening except for the Sunday April 29 performance which begins at 2 p.m.
The production is recommended for mature audiences. Admission is $8 for adults; $4 for students and seniors. For reservation and ticket information, contact the Theatre/Converse ticket office at (864) 596-9068.
The main character of “Wit” has ovarian cancer, a type of cancer that, if it is not caught in the initial stages, few women survive. In order for research doctors to find a cure, they must experiment with different kinds of drug treatments. “Wit” looks at the ethics behind this need and the consequences of this need upon the patient. The set includes a plethora of hospital equipment provided by Gibbs Regional Cancer Center of Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.
In an interview with CNN, Edson said that “while the topic of the play sounds grim, the play itself is about love and knowledge, grace and redemption.” She uses the word wit not so much to convey a sense of comedy (although there are several moments of intelligent humor) but rather to reflect the natural ability to perceive and understand.
Edson’s work experience in the cancer ward of a research hospital was crucial in the writing of “Wit.” In the hospital, she was a first-hand witness to the dilemmas faced by both the patient and the patient’s medical team in dealing with acute disease, the application of radical medical treatment, and the effects of these treatments on the patient’s life, as well as the constant awareness of the possibility of imminent death.