The Kransky Sisters
Encyclopedia
The Kransky Sisters are an Australian musical comedy trio created, written and performed by Annie Lee (Mourne) and Christine Johnston (Eve) in collaboration with Michele Watt (Arva) and Carolyn Johns (Dawn).
The three sisters live a very old-fashioned life and travel around in their 1958 Morris Major performing musical covers. These are performed with their own special panache using tuba, guitar, musical saw and a 60s reed keyboard, not to mention a whole host of other bizarre instruments that pop up from time to time like toilet brushes and kitchen pots.
The Kransky Sisters tell off-beat and occasionally macabre stories and accompany these stories with strangely relevant covers of popular songs.
, a real rural town in Queensland
. The two eldest sisters, Mourne and Eve Kransky, are full biological sisters and have lived together all their lives. Mourne and Eve's father was a travelling salesman for the (fictional) Asbestos
Cookware Company. Their mother left their father to be with his brother, who is Arva and Dawn's father. The two brothers have not spoken since and Mourne and Eve ostracise Arva and Dawn, using their guilt over the affair to dominate them.
Arva, who first toured with the family band, has now joined the Hornbell Military Marching Band. Dawn, the youngest sister, has taken leave from her job as trolley librarian at the Esk Hospital and now tours in Arva's place. The sisters wear the same clothes and Mourne and Eve speak with similar mannerisms. Mourne, the eldest, is clearly the matriarch, sternly keeping control of her younger sisters and doing most of the speaking during a concert, while Eve, a vegetarian who harbours secret passions, eerily echoes many of Mourne's phrases, though she has enough independence to occasionally add to Mourne's stories. Arva and Dawn almost never speak.
The songs they play are learnt from listening to the "wireless" and they drive to their concerts in a 1958 Morris Major
. Sometimes the songs are incomplete thanks to an interruption in their reception and the sisters, lacking any normal cultural context, often seem not to fully understand what they are singing about.
One of their neighbours has a computer and has made them a website.
They were in The Sideshow
with Paul McDermott
on ABC Television
.
This CD contains excerpts from their "We Don't Have Husbands" tour in 2005.
The three sisters live a very old-fashioned life and travel around in their 1958 Morris Major performing musical covers. These are performed with their own special panache using tuba, guitar, musical saw and a 60s reed keyboard, not to mention a whole host of other bizarre instruments that pop up from time to time like toilet brushes and kitchen pots.
The Kransky Sisters tell off-beat and occasionally macabre stories and accompany these stories with strangely relevant covers of popular songs.
Fictional history and backstory
The Kransky sisters come from EskEsk, Queensland
Esk is a town in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, approximately 90 km northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the River Esk in Scotland and England. It is the administrative centre of the Somerset Region...
, a real rural town in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. The two eldest sisters, Mourne and Eve Kransky, are full biological sisters and have lived together all their lives. Mourne and Eve's father was a travelling salesman for the (fictional) Asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
Cookware Company. Their mother left their father to be with his brother, who is Arva and Dawn's father. The two brothers have not spoken since and Mourne and Eve ostracise Arva and Dawn, using their guilt over the affair to dominate them.
Arva, who first toured with the family band, has now joined the Hornbell Military Marching Band. Dawn, the youngest sister, has taken leave from her job as trolley librarian at the Esk Hospital and now tours in Arva's place. The sisters wear the same clothes and Mourne and Eve speak with similar mannerisms. Mourne, the eldest, is clearly the matriarch, sternly keeping control of her younger sisters and doing most of the speaking during a concert, while Eve, a vegetarian who harbours secret passions, eerily echoes many of Mourne's phrases, though she has enough independence to occasionally add to Mourne's stories. Arva and Dawn almost never speak.
The songs they play are learnt from listening to the "wireless" and they drive to their concerts in a 1958 Morris Major
Morris Major
The Morris Major and Austin Lancer are passenger car models produced by the British Motor Corporation of Australia between 1958 and 1964...
. Sometimes the songs are incomplete thanks to an interruption in their reception and the sisters, lacking any normal cultural context, often seem not to fully understand what they are singing about.
One of their neighbours has a computer and has made them a website.
They were in The Sideshow
The Sideshow
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott...
with Paul McDermott
Paul McDermott (comedian)
Paul McDermott is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, director, singer, artist and television host. He currently hosts the satirical news-based 'Good News World' a follow up to quiz show Good News Week which airs in Australia on Network Ten...
on ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
.
Instruments
- Mourne: vocals, acoustic guitar, reed keyboard, biscuit tin, kitchen pot, tambourine
- Eve: vocals, musical-saw, reed keyboard, toilet brush, tambourine
- Arva: tuba, vocals
- Dawn: tuba, vocals
Awards
- Sydney Theatre Awards – Best Cabaret Production 2008
- Herald Angel Award for Excellence - 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe-Events:2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which he was playing Winston Churchill, the actor Mel Smith lit a cigar, flouting the ban...
- MO Award - (Australian live entertainment award) - Best Comedy Ensemble 2005
- Green Room AwardGreen Room AwardsThe Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne....
– Best Cabaret Ensemble 2004 (awarded in 2005) - The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
Critics' Award - Melbourne International Comedy FestivalMelbourne International Comedy FestivalThe Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
2004 - Melbourne Airports Best Newcomers Award - Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2004
Award nominations
- Barry Award - Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2004
- Triple Nominee Green Room Awards 2004 – Best Cabaret Ensemble; Musical Arrangements; Most Outstanding Show.
Discography
- A keepsake of live excerpts from Mourne, Eve and Arva
This CD contains excerpts from their "We Don't Have Husbands" tour in 2005.
Tracklisting
- Love You When (Kransky Theme)
- Introduction
- Sunrise Sunset - original
- The Bakery
- MJ Medley - a Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
medley of ThrillerThriller (song)"Thriller" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records...
, Beat ItBeat It"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
, Billie JeanBillie Jean"Billie Jean" is a dance-pop/R&B song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones from the singer's sixth album, Thriller . Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and... - Pix People
- Sounds of SilenceThe Sound of Silence"The Sound of Silence" is the song that propelled the 1960s folk music duo Simon & Garfunkel to popularity. It was written in February 1964 by Paul Simon in the aftermath of the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. An initial version preferred by the band was remixed and sweetened, and has become...
- Simon and GarfunkelSimon and GarfunkelSimon & Garfunkel are an American duo consisting of singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel. They formed the group Tom & Jerry in 1957 and had their first success with the minor hit "Hey, Schoolgirl". As Simon & Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965, largely on the strength of the...
cover - Arva's Boil
- Sexual HealingSexual Healing"Sexual Healing" is a 1982 song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye on the Columbia Records label. It was his first single since his exit from his long-term record label Motown earlier in the year, following the release of the In Our Lifetime album the previous year...
- Marvin GayeMarvin GayeMarvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
cover - Mince
- NutbushNutbush City Limits"Nutbush City Limits" is a semi-autobiographical rock and roll song written and originally performed by Tina Turner in which she commemorates her rural hometown of Nutbush, Tennessee. Released June 1973, shortly before her separation from then-husband and musical partner Ike Turner, "Nutbush City...
- Tina TurnerTina TurnerTina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
cover - Overload - SugababesSugababesThe Sugababes are an English pop girl group based in London, consisting of members Heidi Range, Amelle Berrabah and Jade Ewen. The Sugababes were formed in 1998 with founding members Siobhán Donaghy, Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. Their debut album, One Touch, was released in 2000 under London...
cover - Makeup
- Pretty WomanOh, Pretty Woman"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in August 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100...
- Roy OrbisonRoy OrbisonRoy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
cover - We Will Rock YouWe Will Rock You"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
- QueenQueen (band)Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
cover
External links
- Homepage of the Kransky Sisters
- Interview with Kransky Sisters from Dangerous Ink Magazine
- Interview with Kransky Sisters for the Big Joke Festival