Palmerston North's Jeannette MacEwan, left, with her famous sister, actress Helen Moulder.
I have got to know actress Helen Moulder through spending Thursday afternoons in the Palmerston North garden of her oldest sister, Jeannette MacEwan. Helen is the matriarch of the family - if you ask Jeannette, and Jeannette is the matriarch - if you ask Helen.
The oldest and youngest of four siblings, rounded out by Judy and Bill, the sisters have a sentence-ending relationship that becomes apparent as we talk via Zoom. They have gathered at Moulder's Nelson home for a cousin's 40th wedding anniversary.
Moulder is the one who keeps the family in contact as she travels freely with her various theatre endeavours. Palmerston North is an easy city to bring her shows to, a second home, as she gets to stay with Jeannette and her husband Neven.
Moulder's latest offering, her fourth collaboration with Brisbane-based Sue Rider, The Bicycle and the Butcher's Daughter, plays at the Dark Room from May 5-16.
She will take on five characters including Olivia Paterson, the CEO of a large meat exporting company with ideas of feeding the world; Jennifer who runs an art gallery in Palmy's George St; and Alexi, a vegan stand-up comic.
MacEwan was there for the opening in an empty shop front in Nelson. Seating just 21, the show was originally supposed to open in a Nelson art gallery, which was unfortunately closed for earthquake strengthening.
It's not the first time MacEwan has been present at one of Moulder's premieres, she once joined in as roadie on Playing Miss Haversham, as it toured New Zealand and South Australia.
Her jobs included ironing costumes, welcoming guests, loading and unloading equipment, and rolling up the curtains. She remembers a particular show in Hawker, South Australia, where most of the town turned up to see Moulder perform at the local bowling club.
While Moulder was always heading toward a career in performance, MacEwan took the route of teaching, particularly reading, then later at Freyberg High School she taught pottery.
There are various artefacts from her pottery classes littered through her eclectic garden. I find them with a smile during our gardening sessions during which MacEwan has passed to me her mum's love of natives, in particular ferns.
Moulder's theatre origins go back to her school days, travel through teachers' college, to studying singing with Dame Nellie Melba – the great Australian soprano, then on to student opera, amateur theatre and Gilbert and Sullivan.
One of her most memorable characters, Cynthia Fortitude, pops up throughout her career, and is a true clown, not a brilliant singer, arrogant, bossy, and generally thinks of herself as much more than she really is. Moulder loves that Cynthia's innocence and silliness allows her to get audiences to sing along, and basically do whatever she wants them to.
The sisters have fond memories of their Nelson home life. Their father being naturally funny, and their mother a lovely singer, there were many moments spent around the piano as a family.
Both women share generously about their lives during the interview. I particularly love a story MacEwan tells about a letter she received while travelling through the Panama Canal from a landlord in London thanking her for her laughter. Moulder says she always knows when her sister is in the audience.
I've twice directed Wit in Palmy, and it's a play in common with Moulder, who won the Chapman Tripp Actress of the Year in 2000 for her portrayal of Dr Vivian Bearing, winning again in 2003 for her collaboration with Sir Jon Trimmer, Meeting Karpovsky.
Music plays like a character in Moulder's works and in The Bicycle and the Butcher's Daughter she promises original recordings of classic Beethoven by Richard Mapp.
It's a play about a family, she says. How appropriate then that I have been made to feel a part of her family during our 45-minute call, which ends with the sound of Jeannette and Helen laughing and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.
The Details
What: The Bicycle and the Butcher's Daughter
When: May 5-16, Wednesdays and Thursdays 6pm, Fridays and Saturdays 7.30pm, Sundays 4pm
Where: The Dark Room
Tickets: centrepoint.co.nz