Vivian Bearing, professor of English literature, universally renowned for her deep knowledge of the works of the great 17th century poet, John Donne, has been diagnosed with an advanced form of ovarian cancer. She approaches her illness in much the same way as she has always approached Donne: analytically, rationally and always probing for deeper truth. Through the pain and indignities of her treatment she comes to reassess her life and her work in a way which is profound, yet has a wry humour which at times is almost unbearably moving.

Wit opened in New York in 1999, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The New York Times critic described Wit as: ‘A brutally human and beautifully layered new play…You will feel both enlightened and, in a strange way, enormously comforted.’

‘Wit’ runs from 23rd – 31st March at the Abbey Theatre Studio, Westminster Lodge, St Albans. Box Office: 01727 857861; www.abbeytheatre.org.uk

HERTS ADVERTISER REVIEW (29 March 2007)

Jill's triumph of wit and wisdom

It takes a monumental performance to make a play with a subject matter as dark as Wit as appealing and life-enhancing as it is in the hands of the Company of Ten.

And that is exactly what director Nick Strudwick gets from Jill Priest in the demanding role of dying cancer victim Vivian Bearing whose story is at the heart of the Margaret Edson play.

Jill, whose performances for the Company of Ten are always excellent, is a brave woman to take on the role of Vivian and it is to her credit that not only does she so memorably capture the tragedy of an intelligent, observant woman dying of ovarian cancer but manages to make her witty and endearing at the same time.

On the face of it Vivian is not a particularly appealing character - an unmarried professor of 17th-century poetry who specialises in the Holy Sonnets of John Donne.

But she uses the analytical skills she has brought to her lifetime's work to come to terms with what is happening to her and she dies with a dignity, despite unwanted efforts to revive her, which leave a lump in the throat.

The role of Vivian is probably the most demanding that Jill has tackled. She is on stage constantly throughout the one hour and 35 minutes it runs and yet there is never any feeling that she is struggling to remember her lines or put them over.

She is, purely and simply, Vivian Bearing whether she is chatting to the audience, sitting next to her father or listening distractedly while the chief of medical oncology tells her what she is suffering from.

The most moving scene of all pairs Jill with Charonne Boulton as E.M. Ashford, the Professor of English Literature who inspired Vivian to study Donne. Professor Ashford is Vivian's only visitor during her time in hospital and as she lays dying, her mentor reads her a children's tale. It is quite simply, brilliant and you could have heard a pin drop in the Abbey Theatre Studio as the scene is played out.

Dan Jackson, Kieran Cummins and Joanne Emery take the other key roles in the play and they all give well-rounded performances. But this is Jill's play and it is her performance which stays in the mind long after the final curtain.

Wit runs until Saturday and is a rare opportunity to see a near-flawless performance by a local drama group.

Tickets are available from the box office on 01727 857861.

 Herts Advertiser Review

I am also choreographing a 1920s version of ‘Twelfth Night’ for OVO, which will tour in July.