No matter what you may have read or heard about the Kransky Sisters, nothing prepares you for the shock of experiencing them in the flesh.
The Kransky Sisters
Glenroy
Friday, October 8
For once, what you see in the publicity pictures is exactly what you get.
These slightly sinister spinsters are disturbingly different and face-achingly funny, in a warped kind of way.
They'd certainly challenge any incarnation of Macbeth's three witches in the scary stakes, but that's just a lasting first impression.
As they recount their innocent versions of the twisted paths their lives have taken, you stop seeing zombie-like Goths and realises that behind their deadpan deliveries there are seething emotions.
Sometimes it seems that these stiff songstresses might even suspect that Planet Kransky and Planet Earth are not the same place.
Now and then the planets do align as the musical maidens regale us with their renditions of occasionally apposite songs from the likes of Michael Jackson to Steppenwolf via the Eurythmics and heavy hitters AC/DC.
How long it takes you to actually recognise these songs is half the fun, especially when they are accompanied by some rather strange instruments, but then this is a wonderfully strange show all-round.
The musically talented Kranskys' droll, self-deprecating humour is skilfully sustained, perfectly timed, and brilliantly underplayed.
These aren't tortured souls screaming for release at all. They're just superb performers with a ground-breaking act that they have honed to perfection.
As the best arts festivals pride themselves on celebrating different kinds of entertainment, chalk another winner up to Otago.
If you're prepared to be pushed out of your comfort zone, there's still time to spend a night with the Kranskys.
- Nigel Zega
