The Oxford poet John Wain left one final manuscript awaiting publication on the day he died - May 24, 1994. It was a simple, yet poignant monodrama entitled Johnson is Leaving, which is about Samuel Johnson's own last few days of life in 1784.

It had been written at the request of his friend, the acclaimed actor Bruce Purchase, who has performed the drama all over the world, often in large theatres but sometimes in small, intimate spaces.

It has proved particularly popular with members of the US branch of the Johnson Society and highly praised when Bruce performed it at The Swan Theatre for the Royal Shakespeare Company three years ago.

John Wain, the former Professor of Poetry at Oxford University and a Fellow of St John's, Brasenose and Wolfson colleges, wrote several popular novels but after graduating from St John's it was his scholarly biography of Johnson, who spent 14 months at Pembroke College (the university's honorary doctorate turned him into Dr Johnson) that finally earned him the academic recognition he deserved.

Two hundred years separate the two scholars, yet Wain had an affinity with Johnson's view of the world, and identified with his celebrations and sufferings.

The play, which runs for 80 minutes, contains several haunting passages. Set on the day that Johnson chose to burn his personal papers, it questions Johnson's relationship with his family and friends as he asks God for forgiveness for the times he selfishly put his own quest for knowledge before their needs.

Wain sums up the play simply: "These final weeks were not a sad or depressed period. The curve is, if anything, upward. As Johnson thought back on his long life, he obviously did so with gratitude to God for the richness and variety of human experiences with tenderness to his friends, and with a new sense that the threat of eternal punishment for his sins, which he had found so terrifying, might finally be lifted from him."

It was signed by Wain within hours of writing those lines and found lying on his desk by his family when they returned to his Wolvercote home the morning of his death. This, says Purchase, is one of the many reasons the play is so poignant.

Bruce Purchase will be performing Johnson is Leaving on Saturday, March 24, at 4pm in the Upper Library, Christ Church. Tickets cost £8. Early booking is advised.