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 Kransky Sisters tell offbeat and occasionally macabre stories and accompany these stories with strangely relevant covers of popular songs.
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Fictional History and Backstory
The Kransky sisters come from Esk, 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 haven't 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 Hornell 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 the same 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're singing about. One of their neighbours has a computer and has made them a website.
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
- Herald Angel Award for Excellence - Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2006
- MO Award - (Australian live entertainment award) - Best Comedy Ensemble 2005
- Green Room Award – Best Cabaret Ensemble 2004 (awarded in 2005)
- The Age Critics' Award - Melbourne International Comedy Festival 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 Jackson medley of Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean
- Pix People
- Sounds of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel cover
- Arva's Boil
- Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye cover
- Mince
- Nutbush - Tina Turner cover
- Overload - Sugababes cover
- Makeup
- Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison cover
- We Will Rock You - Queen cover
