Fascinating Aida
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| Fascinating Aida | |
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 The album cover of Fascinating Aida's Absolutely Fascinating
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| Background information | |
| Origin | England |
| Genre(s) | Satirical Cabaret, comedy |
| Years active | 1983 – 1989 1994 – 2004 2008 - |
| Label(s) | First Night Records |
| Website | http://www.fascinating-aida.co.uk |
| Members | |
| Dillie Keane Adele Anderson Liza Pulman |
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| Former members | |
| Lizzie Richardson Marilyn Cutts Glenda Smith Denise Wharmby Issy Van Randwyck Charlotte Nytzen |
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Fascinating Aida (otherwise known as Fascinating Aïda) is a British comedy singing group and satirical cabaret act, which has retired twice, most recently in 2004. After the death in 2007 of the group's pianist and musical director, Russell Churney[1], all plans for a new show were shelved. Some of their most famous songs include Shattered Illusions, Herpes Tango, Lieder and Taboo. It was announced in early March 2008 that they would get together again for a short spell of concerts and possibly a brief tour to celebrate their 25th anniversary, and the show would include new songs.[2][3][4] They are currently performing at the Jermyn Street Theatre, and will follow their run with several performances in other cities. Recently, a Fascinating Aida Official YouTube Channel was created, which shows various past performances.[5]
Contents |
[edit] History
Fascinating Aida was founded in March 1983 by Dillie Keane,[6] along with Marilyn Cutts and Lizzie Richardson. The members have varied frequently, but the lasting two have been Dillie Keane and Adele Anderson, who joined the group in 1984. The trio started performing in a West End wine bar, but they soon caught the media attention, and performed on television for the first time in July 1983.[citation needed] Over the years, they gained a growing fanbase and national popularity, earning three Laurence Olivier Awards nominations for Best Entertainment in 1995 and 2000. They were voted Most Popular Act 1985 by City Limits magazine and also earned a Perrier Comedy Award nomination.[7] The group broke up in 1989[8] and was subsequently reformed in 1994, and performed for a further ten years, releasing a number of albums, before breaking up again in 2004. Their final show, One Last Flutter, ran from 13 November to 6 December 2003 at the Comedy Theatre in London, when original member Marilyn Cutts joined the group for one last time.[9] When asked in a 2006 interview if the One Last Flutter show in December 2003[10] had been the groups last ever show, Dillie Keane responded, "It might be! I don’t know! I’m not being deliberately obscure – it depends if I fancy it and I don’t at the moment."[6] Since then she stated on the welcome page on the Fascinating Aida official website that "Next year will be our 25th anniversary so we really want to do a new show to celebrate." The page was recently updated to give information about the performances and locations.[11]
The group wrote songs for radio and television programmes such as Stop the Week, After Hours, People Like Us and TV-am.[9] The group were the subject of several BBC documentaries. All the current members are also established actresses, mainly in musical theatre. Dillie Keane is also a writer, having written a column in The Stage magazine for ten years, and written two books, The Joy of Sequins in 1995 and Fascinating Who? in 1985. Keane says she now spends her time "juggling acting, caberet and writing". The group have an official mascot - a pure bred Irish setter called Dillie, born in 1999.
[edit] Group Line up over the years
[edit] Current members
- Dillie Keane (1983 to present)[1]
- Adele Anderson (1984 to present)[1]
- Liza Pulman (2004 to present)[1]
[edit] Previous members
- Lizzie Richardson[8] (March 1983 to October 1983)
- Marilyn Cutts[10] (March 1983 to March 1986)[9]
- Glenda Smith (October 1983 to December 1983)[12]
- Denise Wharmby[13] (August 1986 to April 1989}
- Issy Van Randwyck[14] (March 1994 to July 1999)
- Charlotte Nytzen (February 2000)[15]
[edit] Tour History
Facinating Aida have appeared in over 100 theatres in the United Kingdom and Ireland as well as numerous tours to other countries.[16]
[edit] National Tours & Residencies
- 1984 Fascinating Aida - Donmar Warehouse, London. The show ran from 11 December 1984 to 5 January 1985[17]
- 1985 Fascinating Aida - Lyric Hammersmith, London
- 1986 Fascinating Aida - Lyric Hammersmith
- 1987 Fascinating Aida - Piccadilly Theatre, West End, London. The show ran from 19 February to 3 April[18]
- 1989 Fascinating Aida - Lyric Hammersmith
- 1994 Fascinating Aida - Lyric Hammersmith
- 1994 Fascinating Aida - Garrick Theatre, West End, London. The show ran from 7 December 1994 to 21 January 1995[19]
- 1997 Fascinating Aida - Apollo Theatre, West End, London. The show ran from 4 March to 15 March[20]
- 1997 It, Wit, Don't Give A Shit Girls - Vaudeville Theatre, West End, London. The show ran from 23 January to 15 February[21]
- 1997 It, Wit, Don't Give A Shit Girls - Lyric Hammersmith. The show ran from 4 March to 15 March[21]
- 1998 It, Wit, Don't Give A Shit Girls - Lyric Hammersmith
- 1999 Barefaced Chic - Theatre Royal, Haymarket, West End, London. The show ran from 9 February to 13 March[22]
- 2000 Barefaced Chic - Lyric Hammersmith[15]
- 2003 One Last Flutter - Comedy Theatre, West End, London. The show ran from 13 November to 6 December[23]
[edit] 2008 Run at the Jermyn Street Theatre
In 2008, Fascinating Aida had their "Silver Jubilee Concert", celebrating 25 years of Fascinating Aida. The group are performing several weeks in London's Jermyn Street Theatre, and the run includes many new numbers as well as old.[24][25][26] They have received very positive reviews for their performances.[27]
[edit] International Tours & Residencies
- 1988 One month season - Ballroom, West 28th Street, New York City, United States[13]
- 1998 Small National Tour - Australia
- 1999 Two performances - Hemingways Resort, Watamu, Kenya
- 1999 Three week season - Bar Jeder Vernunft, Berlin, Germany
- 2000 Season -Raffles Hotel, Singapore
- 2003 Red Pear Theatre, Antibes, France September to October[14]
- 2004 Absolutely Fascinating - 59E59 Theaters, Manhattan, New York City, United States, as part of the Brits Off Broadway Festival of New British Theatre.[1]
- 2004 Absolutely Fascinating - Acorn Theatre, Manhattan, New York. The show ran from 22 September to 14 November[28]
[edit] Discography
Fascinating Aida have released five albums and three videos.
[edit] Albums
- 1984 - Sweet FA
- 1987 - A Load of Old Sequins
- 1994 - Live at the Lyric
- 1997 - It, Wit, Don't Give A Shit Girls
- 1999 - Barefaced Chic
- 2003 - Absolutely Fascinating
- 2003 - One Last Flutter
[edit] Selected Awards & Nominations=
- Perrier Award (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)
- Nominated - 1984[32]
- City Limits
- Voted Most Popular Act - 1985[33]
[edit] Books
Fascinating Aida have released two books.
- Keane, Dillie; Anderson, Adele (October 1986). Fascinating Who?, Elm Tree Books, ISBN 0241119251
- Keane, Dillie (December 1994). The Joy of Sequins, Methuen Publishing Ltd , ISBN 0413691101
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Jefferson, Margo. "THEATER REVIEW; Ladies, Ladies! When You're Not Cheeky, You're Sneaky", New York Times, 2004-06-01. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ http://www.fascinating-aida.co.uk/faframe.htm
- ^ Jermyn Street Theatre, the official online home of London's leading Off-West-End venue
- ^ COLE KITCHENN LTD - Producers - General Management - Personal Management
- ^ Fascinating Aida YouTube Official
- ^ a b Connor, Sheila (2006). Interviews: Not Just Fascinating Aida!. British Theatre Guide. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Past Perrier Awards Nominees and Winners
- ^ a b Fascinating Aida. Gavin Barker Associates Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b c "Song star launches play season", Cumberland News, 2006-05-26. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Fascinating Aida: One Last Flutter. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Keane, Dillie (2008). Welcome. Fascinating Aida. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Glenda Smith. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Holden, Stephen. "Review/Cabaret; British Music-Hall by Fascinating Aida", New York Times, 1988-08-14. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Fascinating Aida. culturevulture.net. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Rampton, James. "COMEDY: GIG OF THE WEEK; Fascinating Aida Until 26 Feb Lyric Theatre,", The Independent, 2000-02-19. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Into The Woods biographies. Derby Playhouse. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Donmar Warehouse. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Piccadilly. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Garrick Theatre. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Apollo Theatre. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ a b Fascinating Aida - London Vaudeville. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Haymarket. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida - London Comedy Theatre. thisistheatre.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ Fascinating Aida Marks 25th Birthday at Jermyn St | What's on Stage News | Whatsonstage
- ^ Whatsonstage: Jermyn Street Theatre,, Inner London, Greater London
- ^ Playbill News: Fascinating Aida to Mark 25th Anniversary with London Concerts
- ^ West End Wingers - Review
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Fascinating Aida to Play NY's Acorn Theatre, Sept. 22-Nov. 14", Playbill News, 2004-09-23. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
- ^ http://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/fascinating-aida.htm
- ^ http://www.albemarle-london.com/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=2000
- ^ http://www.curtainup.com/oliviers2004.html
- ^ Ed Fringe Past Awards
- ^ http://www.gavinbarkerassociates.co.uk/fascinating-aida.htm
