Wit, by playwright Margaret Edson, was first produced in 1995. After several small productions, Wit had its first showing in New York in 1998. Edson won the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this piece. Page numbers in this guide refer to the Faber and Faber 2001 edition.

Vivian Bearing is diagnosed with stage four metastatic ovarian cancer. She goes through eight cycles of an aggressive experimental chemotherapy. This treatment is not intended to help Vivian recover; her cancer is too far gone. Instead her treatment will provide much needed research information.

Vivian guides the audience through her tale and shares her reflections with them. The audience follows her journey through her treatment until her ultimate death. Interspersed with this journey, Vivian joins scenes from the far and recent past: when she received her diagnosis; her viewpoint as a student, as a teacher, and a memory of a childhood moment with her father.