Fascinating Aida : The 40th Anniversary Show!
I’ve never seen Fascinating Aïda live before. I’d seen them on telly plenty of times before, and their reputation as very funny, very naughty ladies certainly went before them, so I was certainly hoping for a fun evening, and was not disappointed.
The comedy trio of Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman gave a brilliant evening of varied comedy songs and anecdotes to a packed audience at the Oxford Playhouse, where they are kicking off 3 nights to sold out audiences, before heading off on a tour, which includes the London Palladium, to celebrate 40 years in the business.
They were very ably accompanied on piano for most of the show by Musical Director, Michael Roulston who not only played piano (and in one hilarious number, ‘A.I.’, the keyboards) but also fully entered into the comedic spirit.
The evening starts with the stage complete with grand piano and three wooden chairs, with Dillie, Adele and Liza coming on stage in elegant black, navy and red outfits, and going straight into the hilarious ‘We’re Next/Not Done Yet’ in which these ladies of a certain age, took full aim at the joys, or otherwise, of aging.
The ladies then went straight into one of their most well-known songs, ‘Cheap Flights’ a hilarious warning about the dangers of the 50p flight….if you’ve not seen it, catch it online. I particularly loved the warning to jump off the plane if you’ve not paid extra to use the steps!
The first half contains 12 songs. I especially enjoyed the ‘Citizenship Test’ number, which included Dillie testing the audience beforehand on some of the UK Citizenship Test past papers, before the trio entertained us with their suggestions of better questions.
The interval came just after the fabulous ‘Down With The Kids’ number.
After the interval, came some wonderful sequinned glamour. And another 10 songs, including ‘Bored’, ‘Dogging’ and ‘A Tory MP’! The trio deliciously took aim at Rishi Sunak and the Government, Trump, Lord Cameron (much to the Oxford audience’s delight), Gwyneth Paltrow, and even Tesco. Mention was also made of the wonderful Toby Jones and the recent Post Office drama, so even though this was a celebration of 40 years in the industry, it was also very fresh and up to date.
Something very lovely, and very different, no programmes were on sale. Instead, we were invited to go to the trio’s website and download a free one. Not only no charge, but as Dillie told us, no trees harmed! The programme is not only full of information and fun about the ladies, but also has 3 (well 2 in reality, but I won’t spoil that for you…) personal recipes for us to try!
All in all, this was a wonderful, sweary, funny, entertaining evening, and was just the tonic for a glum January night!
This show was reviewed on the 30th January 2024. Fascinating Aida runs at the Oxford Playhouse until the 1st February 2024. More info here: Fascinating Aïda: The 40th Anniversary Show! | Oxford Playhouse
Full tour details here: Fascinating Aïda | Welcome to the Fascinating Aïda website! Enter for news, photos, video, joy and laughter! (fascinatingaida.co.uk)
Review written by Ruth Hawkins
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