Cric Crac Crone: Stories of Life, Love, Sex and Revenge.

What is side splittingly funny but not a comedy act? Full of eccentric characters but not a play? Spun with music but not a concert?

Storytelling for grown ups with Lillian Rodrigues Pang. Just back from the Darwin Festival in August, Lillian is performing Cric Crac Crone at the Sydney Fringe Festival. Lillian tells stories the way they were meant to be told, person to person and full of love, life, sex and revenge.

Storytelling is a part of every culture. Can you remember someone telling you a story they were told as a child? They may start by saying they were told this by their grandmother or grandfather. Listen to that story and you get an amazing insight as to who they are, and what has shaped them as a person. “I enjoy what you learn about food types, weather, animal populations, moral lessons,” says Lillian. “The oral tradition is such an ancient and wonderful tradition. Stories evolve within a culture and community to pass on knowledge that is directly relevant to what you need to hear. There is power in a story spoken by an elder to the ears and heart of the receiver directly.”

The power of storytelling person to person is something many of us have lost touch with. “Over time books were valued above and beyond the spoken word,” explains Lillian. “So collectors of stories, such as the Brothers Grimm, began to 'pass on' these stories.” What then changed was that rather than your grandmother or grandfather giving you their personal interpretation of the story, the perspectives of the likes of Brother’s Grimm, who often had their own strong moral and male dominant perspectives, became part of the story. “The endings were altered, the role of the sexes, the focus of the stories changed,” says Lillian. “When you go and research the original stories, you find that Cinderella is an ancient Chinese story about foot binding. Little Red Riding Hood is about women's business as the girl goes to her grandmother to 'shed blood' or menstruate.” These stories were spread in a simple way, person to person, across countries, continents, cultures and centuries. It seems we all share the same stories.

Lillian’s passion for sharing stories has led her to gather and research stories wherever and whenever she can. “I read voraciously. I scour libraries, second hand stores and people’s houses. When people find out what I do they tell me stories or 'memories' to follow up on. It’s a wonderful gift - people’s stories.”

Lillian’s story is one she calls “Pure Ossie”, part Pipil Indian (El Salvador), part Palestinian, part Scottish and part Portuguese, born in Paddington and raised in Sydney’s western suburbs. Now a wife and mother of three, Lillian weaves this rich cultural heritage together, blending creation stories, folk tales, life lessons and music to create a unique performance called Cric Crac Crone. You will be let in on Pipil Indian secrets, ancestral whisperings, and hear a good dose of women’s wisdom.

Crone, like the stories, has changed in meaning over time. Lillian takes it back to its original meaning, which traces to the triple goddess of women’s development; youth, birthing years and golden wise aged woman who wears the ‘crown’ of wisdom. In Cric Crac Crone the crone is sassier, bitchier, sexier and jaw-dropping hilarious.

“It’s a wild ride through many different cultures,” Lillian says. “It’s not all serious words of wisdom though – crones are certainly allowed to laugh, and there are plenty in this show.”

Stories of love, life, sex and revenge. Sounds like my cup of tea. You coming?




Cric Crac Crone
Lillian Rodrigues Pang, Storyteller
Venue: The Other Room in The Factory Theatre, 105 Victoria Road, Marrickville.
Friday 10 September, 8pm
Saturday 11 September, 9.30pm
Sunday 12 September, 8pm
Thursday 16 September, 9.30pm
Saturday 18 September, 1pm.

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