A LETTER TO DIAGHILEV
Nijinsky’s personal life was also of epic proportions. He had a homosexual affair with the impresario of the Ballets Russes, Serge Diaghilev, then married a well-meaning student. Diaghilev refused to cast Nijinsky in other dances, and shortly afterward Nijinsky suffered a nervous breakdown; he was confined in mental hospitals until his death in 1950. Two legends have grown up around him: as a genuine artist, and as the romantic figure of an artist, overwhelmed by the forces he portrays.
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The first half has little narrative logic–it’s a collage that shows the many sides of Nijinsky’s alienation. Its crazy-quilt structure suggests that to understand Nijinsky we must follow him on the trail of his obsessive thoughts. The second half gathers some narrative force as the play begins to focus on the source of Nijinsky’s delusions, but the first half makes any answers seem tentative. The confusion is heightened by the presence of a third nurse (Liz Payne) who definitely belongs to the real world–when Nijinsky lectures, she simply watches, as a nurse in an asylum would.
Art accompanying story in printed newspaper (not available in this archive): photo/Jennifer Girard.
