Madcap trio love to shock

Interview by Dawn Bond

They are brassy, biting, brilliant and back at the Palace Theatre, Newark, by popular demand after deciding to extend their silver jubilee show.

The comedy cabaret trio, Fascinating Aida, are topical, shocking, funny, and often gleefully smutty with no subject or topic too daring to tackle. They take to the stage tonight (Feb 26) at 7.30pm.

Since Dillie Keane first started the group 26 years ago, they have toured all over the world and their West End shows have garnered three Olivier Award nominations.

Dillie, with Adele Anderson and singing sensation Liza Pulman stick the satirical stiletto into health and safety, wannabes, D-list celebrities, and Gordon Brown.

They have a go at explaining modern finance, extol the joys of al fresco sex, and wonder if global warming will mean we all have to move to the Shetlands.

Dillie said: “My mother despairs at all the comical songs I have written in the past but they go down a treat with the audience.

“I don’t mind shocking people in the least. No subject escapes my pen although it is always done tastefully and not crudely.

“I was a painfully shy kid and I used to clown about to make people like me. I was tall, thin and gawky and used to play the piano.

“My mum used to take me to the theatre a lot — it was only round the corner from where I lived so I was rather lucky.

“I then became quite ill for a while and as a treat she took me to see every Gilbert and Sullivan operetta the D’Oyly Carte Theatre performed at my local theatre for a fortnight. I was in heaven and caught the musical theatre bug.”

Dillie trained at LAMDA in London before embarking on a bit of theatre work.

“There was a plethora of jobs so I used to play piano in a bar to make a living and got a few of my friends to sing.

“I then started writing songs about everything and anything and Fascinating Aida was born, by accident really.

“It has been great fun over the years, although the line-up has changed.

“Liza, Adele and I get on very well which is just as well as we had to share a flat together in New York while performing in America.

“We will continue performing our silver jubilee show until the election and start our new one next year. We have already started working on it.”

Fascinating Aida performed the show at the Palace last year. It was such a big hit with general manager Kevan Jackson that he invited the girls to perform it again this year.

ABOVE: COMEDY cabaret trio Fascinating Aida return to the Palace Theatre, Newark