Fascinating Aida’s Pitlochry debut

Mar 16 2010 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

ONE of the hottest tickets at last year’s Perth Festival was Fascinating Aida – the belly-achingly funny and hugely-talented comedy cabaret trio of Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman.

On Friday the queens of musical satire are again Perthshire-bound, but this time they’re heading for Pitlochry for what is certain to be a near sell-out evening of mirth which is topical, shocking, funny and often gleefully smutty.

It’s almost 27 years since Fascinating Aida first treated audiences to its own stamp of musical satire, yet after so many years and so much touring, founder Dillie Keane said she was still “having a ball.”

“I go to some wonderful places where complete strangers cheer and clap. I just love it!”, gushed award-winning Dillie, minus her Grumpy Old Women persona.

So busy is her current schedule with Fascinating Aida, that her acclaimed role alongside Jenny Eclair in the Grumpy Old Women show has been mothballed.

Fascinating Aida comes to Pitlochry Festival Theatre just short of halfway through a 36-date UK tour.

“We’re really in our stride now and the stamina is so far holding out,” continued the group’s driving force.

“Most of our material on the tour is based on the show we brought to Perth last year but we’re constantly up-dating it and write new little bits.

“We always want to give audiences value for money so we write new songs to keep the show fresh.”

While Friday will be Fascinating Aida’s Pitlochry debut, Dillie, Adele and Liza are no strangers to Scotland. It was at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1983 when Dillie and her other two Fascinating Aida co-founders first worked their magic. The following year Adele came on board as performer and co-writer with Dillie.

The group hung up their sequins in 1989, then by popular demand re-formed some six years ago with Liza as the ‘new girl’ in the Fascinating Aida line-up.

And the world of entertainment was all the better for having Fascinating Aida back on the road – and back in Perthshire. On Friday expect a Fascinating Aida roller-coaster ride through life – Dillie and Adele’s writing captures all life’s emotions – but most of all expect to be entertained by three glamour ‘mature’ women with monster-sized talent.