Oleanna is a 1992 two-character play by David Mamet, about the power struggle between a university professor and one of his female students, who accuses him of sexual harassment and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure.

Of particular concern is a book written by John himself, wherein he questions the modern insistence that everyone participate in higher education, referring to it as "systematic hazing".

After initially appearing insensitive, John eventually decides to help Carol, telling her that he "likes her" and that he also felt similar frustrations as a student.

She has documented daily occurrences of sexist remarks by John toward his students and describes his offer of giving her an "A" if she agrees to meet with him privately in his office.

John hopes to resolve the matter privately with Carol so that the complaint may be withdrawn from the tenure committee, saying he does not understand how his actions could have offended her and attempting to convince her that he was only trying to help her without any ulterior motive.

Carol is even more forceful in naming her instructor's flaws, finding it hypocritical that a college professor could question the very system that offers him employment and gives him an academic platform to expound his views.

This causes John to finally snap completely and he savagely beats her, screaming obscenities and holding a chair above her head as she cowers on the floor.

[5] The premiere featured William H. Macy as John, a "smug, pompous, insufferable man whose power over academic lives he unconsciously abuses".

[5] In October, a year after the Anita Hill–Clarence Thomas hearings[1] which "crystallized and concretized"[5] Mamet's dramatization, it appeared off-Broadway at New York City's Orpheum Theatre, with Macy and Pidgeon reprising their roles.

[5] Critic Frank Rich provides a summary of the play in his review of the off-Broadway production: Oleanna's London premiere was staged at the Royal Court Theatre in 1993, directed by Harold Pinter.

[8]A 2004 production[9] at the Garrick Theatre in London featured Aaron Eckhart and Julia Stiles[10] and was directed by Lindsay Posner.

Stiles reprised the role of Carol in a 2009 production directed by Doug Hughes and co-starring Bill Pullman at the Mark Taper Forum.

[11] On June 30, 2009, it was announced that this production would be transferring to Broadway's John Golden Theatre, with previews beginning September 29 before an October 11 opening night.

The Hebrew translation belongs to Ehud Manor, the stage direction to Sarah von Schwartze, and the two roles are played by Dan Shapira and Joy Rieger.

In 2014, a production of the play at Milwaukee's Alchemist Theatre was stopped after one performance when it received a cease-and-desist order from Mamet's representatives.