The Groggy Squirrel

The girls from Esk are back in town and they’ve gone multimedia! Before The Kransky Sisters arrive we are treated with a slide show of what, presumably is their drive from Esk in Queensland down to Melbourne, stopping at many tiny country towns on the way. The pictures are hilarious and filled with images of kitsch country Australia and hideous roadside meals.

They quietly shuffle on stage in their usual endearing, nervous, manner, while the audience goes nuts with applause and cheering. I love the fact that the instruments they unpack from their shopping trolley are the sorts of things you might find around the farm or at a local fete, such as a saw, a loo brush, wooden spoon, block of wood, a tin of rice, tea towels and mix matched tambourines. Except for Ava’s tuba of course, for as they are quick to point out, Ava had a different father, one who indulged his biological daughter with proper music lessons at the local TAFE and an expensive musical instrument.

Although the introduction to this show is pretty similar to last year’s show “We don’t have Husbands”, this is just to bring newcomers up to speed with the characters. The rest of the show, though it has a similar structure, is completely new. We learn more about their lives and their dark pasts in between a new set of songs they’ve learned from their wireless and interpreted in their unique stunning style with gorgeous harmonies and seated choreography.

The most delightful thing, is that Mourne and Eve are a little less cruel to the quiet Ava, and Ava not only gets to demonstrate her marching abilities, but she finally gets to sing with her sisters, during the Eurythmics song, Sweet Dreams. Scary Goth singer Marilyn Manson covered this song a while ago, but it’s the Kranskys who bring out its full menace.

These spinsters are true Goths and their show is veiled with gloomy images of death and violence. From their missing abusive parents, to pet deaths, the cemetery that abuts their farm and of course the songs they have chosen, Psychokiller, Horrormovie, Highway to Hell (Rock On girls!) with creepy versions of Time in a bottle, Abracadabra and the heartwrenching song about dead bunnies, Bright Eyes, which had the audience in apoplexies. There are brighter spots, such as their disco medley of M’s Popmusic and The Carwash and the audience participation bit which involved dressing a man as a Kransky, Eve’s naked lust for him and popcorn. The man dragged on stage when I was there was overcome with a fit of the giggles and could barely speak because he was breathless with laughter every time Mourne spoke to him and the more crotchety she became the funnier it was.

Part of my joy in seeing The Kranskys is watching the uninitiated discover them with jaws dropped, become blown away by their talent and gradually fall in love with them like I did. The Kransky sisters are such an original, compelling, sophisticated, fully-realised creation and cover the whole gamut of hilarious high kitsch comedy, dark Goth tragedy, dazzling musicianship with beautiful broad range harmonies, comical choreography and you can take your mum! If you have not discovered the Kransky Sisters yet, its time you did, if only to hear their inspired version of “The Real Thing” Wow! They truly are sensational.

For booking details go to The Kransky Sisters