Crones in Cabaret present Not Dead Yet! at the Fringe

This poignant and funny show explores ageing through songs, puppetry, poems and sketches. Winner of a cabaret award at the Adelaide Fringe, now it’s Sydney’s turn to reclaim the Crone.

Old dear, old girl, old boiler, old chook, old crone! So many unlovely ways to describe older women. This life affirming cabaret finally reclaims the crone as a woman of wisdom and wit, most definitely not past her prime. The Crones from the Older Women's Network Theatre Group are Not Dead Yet!

Through songs, sketches, poems and puppetry we challenge the myths and realities of ageing in a fast paced one-hour cabaret style show that's bound to evoke laughter and a few tears as we navigate some tough topics. The show traverses the realities of housing insecurity, aged care, dementia, the scourge of scammers and ageism in an authentic and uplifting show that has audiences of all ages nodding with recognition.

Not Dead Yet! was developed over the grim Covid years using Zoom meetings when rehearsing and performing wasn't possible. We then rehearsed, masked, in a breezy driveway in all weathers.

The show was taken to the Adelaide Fringe in 2023 where we Crones played to a full houses at the Warehouse Theatre. Not Dead Yet! won a best cabaret award at the Festival. Since then we have performed for groups large and small, for audiences of all ages. In May we opened the People's Commission on the Housing Crisis with one of our songs about homelessness and older women.

The Crones in Cabaret perform proudly under the auspices of the Older Women's Network Theatre Group, founded in 1987 in a Parliament House protest to draw attention to the issues facing older women. The group includes women over 60 from all backgrounds who are committed to embracing each day as if it's their last.

We thank the Inner West Council and the Sydney Fringe for their support.