Reviews and Awards
The Listener, 23rd November 2002
“An extraordinary new work full of humour, delight, drama and surprise, Meeting Karpovsky is an enchanting play, and, above all, is the pure magic that Helen Moulder and Jon Trimmer conjure on stage together.
“Moulder is remarkable as the helpless, hopeless Sylvia. She has a luminous quality and
imbues the unworldly Sylvia with a rare beauty and charm. Trimmer plays Alexander Karpovsky
with delicate grace. He glides silently, elegantly around the stage, tender as a love poem and
replete with compassion and kindness. Together they are magnificent: she a jittery, wounded
gazelle gambolling alongside his sure dance of love and understanding.”
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The Press, 11th November 2002
“Trimmer, as the older Russian dancer, charismatically recaptures a past era; one,
significantly paralleled with his personal theatrical life and triumphs. Moulder is the
passionate articulate believer, and the split-second timing between the two characters, Sylvia
and Karpovsky, is pure delight.”
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Sunday Star Times, 17th November 2002
“The play itself is well-crafted with an ebb and flow of emotional tension, some lovely
touches of humour and a measure of suspense... Meeting Karpovsky is really an
opportunity to meet two great performers and to enjoy their memorable combination.”
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National Business Review, 13th December 2002
“The play uses fantasy to take us into a profoundly moving reality of great emotional depth,
the Petrouchkan theme of raging against a controlling God we no longer trust is central, and
overall it informs, educates, entertains and finally inspires.”
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Dominion-Post, 15th March 2003
“At the curtain call of the opening night of Meeting Karpovsky the two performers, Helen Moulder and Sir Jon Trimmer, took their bows to loud applause and many of the audience stood and cheered as if they were in a much larger theatre where ballet is usually performed. Only the large bouquets of roses were missing.
“Yet we had neither witnessed any ballet nor been swept away by any grand theatrical
spectacle. We had, however, been held, moved and enriched by this beautifully crafted piece of
chamber theatre.”
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The Listener - Best New Play in Christchurch for 2002.
“The heartwarming Meeting Karpovsky written and performed by Helen Moulder and Sir Jon Trimmer. It's a simple story of loss and hope, but told and acted with charm and grace. Moulder and Trimmer made magic - her as luminous as he is lyrical - onstage and the whole experience was quietly mesmerising.”
Best Actress - Wellington 2003 The Listener
Helen Moulder, for two heart-tearing performances: as the dementia-suffering Annie in In Flame and as the ballet-mad, dance-shy Sylvia in Meeting Karpovsky, which Moulder co-created with Sue Rider and Sir Jon Trimmer.
Actress of the Year 2003 - Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards
