A Cracker Kransky Christmas

Get out your Jatz crackers and apple on sticks – the Kransky Sisters have driven their little red Morris all the way from Esk to bring you some early Christmas cheer. And these girls know how to throw a party – just don’t ask Graham Roach, the pest controller who still hasn’t been seen since attending to the Kransky’s Airbnb’s spider infestation. (The room is vacant if anyone is looking for somewhere to stay over Christmas.) With a collection of musical instruments (and implements) that could only be found in the bargain bin at the Crow’s Nest Antique Shop, and matching costumes from the ladies’ fashion store on the Esk high street, Mourne, Eve, and Dawn bring their unique musical style to Christmas classics and more unexpected hits, all laced together with a storytelling ability to draw you deep into their surreal world.

‘Groove is in the heart’ by Deee-Lite will never sound the same again without Eve’s musical saw. And I don’t know why Queen’s Roger Taylor never considered using, as Mourne does,  a toilet brush in his percussion kit for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The 1960’s electronic keyboard adds something special to ‘Can’t touch this’ by MC Hammer, and AC/DC’s ‘Thunderstruck’ and ‘It’s a long way to the top’ both get a unique Kransky makeover, powered along by Dawn’s Tuba. Learn about the family’s history and help the girls exorcise the ghostly presence at their Esk homestead by singing along to Ray Parker Jr’s ‘Ghost Busters’. And I hope, wherever he is, Graham Roach is listening when the girls reveal their inner most secrets when they perform ‘Wannabe’ by the Spice Girls. Adding to the standout comic moments was Roger, a brave volunteer from the audience, who kept pace with the girls’ tambourine technique on ‘The 12 days of Christmas’ – and I hope he gets his Christmas wishes for a new guitar and a Kransky Sisters CD.

Of course, the secret to the Kransky’s success is the absolute comic and musical talents of their alter egos, Annie Lee, Christine Johnston and Carolyn Johns. It was pre-lockdown that I last saw the Kransky’s perform. Their latest song selection is brilliant and it feels like their humorous edges are a little softer, which I think shows the trio are very attuned to the times and what audiences need. I just hope they can show the same diplomacy and break the news gently when they have to tell Mourne, Eve and Dawn the truth about the Queen. A Cracker Kransky Christmas is selling out fast at QPAC and an extra matinee has been added on Wednesday 21 December to meet demand.

Find out more: https://www.qpac.com.au/event/acrackerkranskychristmas_22

Beth Keehn

Photos: The Kransky Sisters