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Girl with a pearl earring finds it a pain in the neck
Ellen Widdup, Evening Standard26.09.08
It's one of the world's most familiar portraits - a girl wearing a pearl earring wistfully turning her head to look over her shoulder.
The pose, from the painting by 17th-century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, has inspired a best-selling novel, a Hollywood film starring Scarlett Johansson, and now a West End play.
But there is a problem - the leading lady has pulled a muscle in her neck and is struggling to replicate the image that is crucial to Girl With A Pearl Earring.
What is more, Kimberley Nixon will be making her West End debut when the play opens on Monday night. She vowed not to let the pain affect her performance.
"I will be turning my head when the curtain goes up if it kills me," she said. "It is probably repetitive strain injury or something from holding my head in that position for rehearsals.
"I can't even turn my head to the left, let alone look over my shoulder, which is a bit worrying. I will be seeing the doctor, taking it easy and trying to massage it back into shape."
Nixon was picked from thousands to play Griet, Vermeer's model and muse, in the production at the Haymarket Theatre Royal.
The 23-year-old played Sophy Hutton in the BBC costume drama Cranford, opposite Dame Judi Dench.
She said she was aware she would be compared with Johansson - who played Griet in the 2003 film directed by Peter Webber - but had avoided watching the movie.
"I wanted my performance to be separate. I didn't want any of Scarlett's Griet to seep into mine," she said.
The drama has been adapted from Tracy Chevalier's novel by David Joss Buckley and is directed by Joe Dowling.
In the story, Griet works as a maid in the home of Vermeer, played by Adrian Dunbar. He gives her art lessons, keeping the meetings secret from his wife.
He pierces the girl's ears so she can wear his wife's pearl earrings for the portrait, and as he paints, they form a deep attachment.
