Game of Crones – Traverse Theatre

The Protagonist stumbles through a haze of swirling fog and beseeches Mighty Kronos, the Lord of Time. Her vision is blurry, and her phone is inexplicably in the fridge. Plus, she has wrinkles. The Protagonist begs the Keeper of the Sands to spare her from the indignities of aging. But merciless Kronos is having none of it.

The Protagonist receives the Tongue Sharpener, the Spectacles of Insight, and the Cloak of Invisibility (it’s a beige cardigan), and embarks on an epic mystical quest full of pitfalls and wacky characters.

Clown duo Abigail Dooley and Emma Edwards combine splendid silliness with a heightened, fantastical sensibility. The costumes, created by Jess Eaton, are a fine example of this elevated foolery. The “dragged through a hedge backwards“ costume features a wild, ivy-strewn wig, topped with a bird’s nest which is angled beautifully for the sight lines of the steeply raked seating in Traverse 1. I also loved the shiny suits and reptilian tails adjoining the snake oil salesmen in “Vanity Fair”, who open their jackets to reveal potions, poisons and placebos aplenty. Life gave you lemons, but they can give you melons.

There are plenty of crones among the audience, and the bar is doing a roaring trade in wine. Several members of this demographic agreed that the show resonated deeply with our own experience, and folks of all ages and genders laughed until they wept. Original music by Tom Carson, and gameplay-style animated graphics, enhance the epic flavour of this Protagonist’s Journey.

Dooley and Edwards pitched their ideas to a TV studio, but a young male producer told them that “women that age don’t talk like that”. We live in a world abundant with absurdity. So, let’s laugh about it, together.

Reviewer: Wendy McEwan

Reviewed: 4th April 2026

North West End UK Rating: