Fascinating Aida’s new touring show celebrating 40 years on the road is a joy and a delight. Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and relative newcomer Liza Pulman (20 years) join with accompanist Michael Roulston to present a programme which includes audience favourites like "Cheap Flights" and "Dogging" along with new material which reflects breaking news of immediate interest.
All three performers command the audience with the outrageous wit of the song lyrics which are spiced up with effectively chosen coarse language and delivered with aplomb. Everything is treated with irreverence, from the vicissitudes of old age to the failures of politicians. Even current discussion of the potential dangers of AI is given space. Nothing is spared!
Additionally, all three have remarkable voices both in the emphatic delivery of the spoken word and the complexity of the sung arrangements. The first half of the show starts with a bang with the performance of "We’re Next", an unsentimental anticipation of their passing, while the opening of the second half gives us Dillie using her powerful voice to introduce "Bored", reminiscent of the language of bored teenagers, which is demonstrated by extreme physical contortion.
The range and variety of the show is exceptional. "Widows" (tedious) and "Mother, Dear Mother" dwell on family matters while "A Tory MP" and "Citizenship" focus malevolently on political issues. "Bulgarians" provides wordplay based on mispronunciation, and the hysterically funny "Kangaroo Reincarnation" has the women hopping around the stage with charming agility.
The three women are accomplished musicians. The strong alto voices of Dillie and Adele are complemented by Liza’s almost operatic soprano, and Dillie occasionally provides a piano accompaniment, which gives her an opportunity for her to lark about on the piano stool. Michael Roulston, who has composed items as well as accompanying most of the show, is a talented pianist and is given the opportunity for a solo performance in "The Blues Got a Skeleton Key", a delightful jazz piece. Michael joins in the physical stage action later in the show.
As the evening draws to an end, there is an extended item called "Tesco Saves", after the biblical "Jesus Saves", in which the cast lets rip in gospel style on Tesco’s management procedures.
The visual aspects of the production (director Paul Foster) contribute to the variety of the evening, with matching red outfits for the first half replaced by sparkling evening gear in the second, enthusiastically cheered by the audience. Use of the stage is enhanced by the simple device of moving chairs forward, which briefly changes the logistics of the space.
The Sheffield audience took the performance to its heart from the word go, and was rewarded after the curtain call when Sheffield itself became the object of satire. How pleasing that was!
This commemorative production is touring the country well into the spring, and, I expect, given the company’s reputation, that seats will need to be booked early. An evening of laughter at a dark time.