Graziella Rossi is a Swiss actress. Sabina Spielrein was a Russian-Jewish psychiatrist, killed by the Nazis during World War II, who was both very influential in her own right, and who was a patient of, and romantically involved with, Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. Lost for years, her papers recently resurfaced, and from them her early life in Rostow on the Don, through her illness and treatment by Jung in Zurich, her medical training, her relationship with Jung, her marriage, her work in the Soviet Union all became known, or re-known. A biography of her was written by Karsten Ainaes, and this play by Liv Hege Nylund was based on the book.
It is a mesmerizing story, remarkably performed by the actress who premiered the work in Zurich in German. Last night was apparently Rossi’s first performance of anything in English. She is a tremendous actress.
The play was performed in conjunction with the Swiss Embassy and the Jung Society of Washington at Theater J. A year or two ago, Theater J staged a play called “Hannah and Martin”, about the relationship between German philosopher Martin Heidegger and German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt. The similarities between the two situations are manifold. The difference: Arendt lived through the war (in America), while Spielrein was not so lucky.
