For over thirty years Fascinating Aida have been touring the country together. Originally they would play to small audiences in tiny venues but, through the strength of their material, and the consummate skill of their performance, they soon achieved “cult” status. Tours would be announced and tickets would sell like the proverbial hot cakes and so, as time went on, the venues became larger and the tours longer with this year’s tour, Charm Offensive, being the biggest ever.
On a spartan stage set, dominated by Dillie Keane’s grand piano, surrounded by a few clusters of lamps (to provide mood lighting) it’s possible to be led into a false sense that we’re in for a gentile evening of song but, before the first song is finished, the audience are left with no illusions of how this evening will run, how no subject is safe from the FA treatment and of the kind of language that occasionally crops up.
Over the last 30 years the three ladies have honed their song and lyric writing skills to perfection with this year’s crop of new songs revealing an even sharper wit and a fearless approach to topics that, almost without exception, one might think it impossible to sing about. Some of the lyrics may have audience members uttering the immortal question “Did she really just sing that?” but, almost without exception, the answer is a most definite yes.
Most of the songs are sung by all three performers but the solo highlights for me were Liza Pulman’s performance of “Out of Practice” (the tale of a woman’s return to the dating scene) and Dillie Keane’s anthem to nocturnal car park pursuits, “Dogging” but, without doubt, the show-stopping solo performance of the night goes to Adele Anderson who, in Prisoner of Gender (a poignant song that took over 10 years to write), takes us through her transformation from a little boy who was born in the wrong body, to the wonderful woman that she is today.
It’s not just some of the solo performances that, temporarily, mute the laughter, in the group performances of “Old Home” – about the feelings of sadness that we all experience when moving house and “Look Mummy, No Hands” – a wonderfully touching Mother / Daughter song, the auditorium falls totally silent, until the explosion of applause at the end shows exactly how much people are touched by the wonderfully emotional lyrics.
Of course, the laughter soon returns with songs like “Facebook Blues”, “Down with the Kids”, The Bulgarian Song Cycle (the musical cabaret version of comic one liners) and in two of Fascinating Aida’s best loved classics “Allo, Bonjour Monsieur!” and “Taboo”.
My first experience of an evening in the presence of the comedy genius that is Fascinating Aida was well over 20 years ago and, I can honestly say, like a great wine, these ladies get better and better with age.
***** Five Stars
