Satirical cabaret trio Fascinating Aida have split more times than the Sugababes. Founding member Dillie Keane tells MATTHEW JENKIN what keeps bringing the group back together.

BREAKING up is hard to do and comedian Dillie Keane is no stranger to the pain of separation. Since it first formed 27 years ago, her cabaret group Fascinating Aida has split up twice.

Having starred in the hugely popular TV show Grumpy Old Women, I half expected the trio's troubles to be down to Dillie's miserable mood swings and sour disposition.

But to my disappointment, not only is Dillie's glass half full, she says the group's frequent shake-ups is because they just can't seem to keep hold of their sopranos.

“We have discovered to our chagrin that the sopranos tend to want to move on. They get much more job offers than altos and I can't really sing anyway,” Dillie laughs.

She said: “I get acting job offers which I can't take because I'm committed to Fascinating Aida.

“So when a soprano says she's tired of it and wants to go off and try something else, I think I may as well give this up for a bad job. It does become dispiriting.”

Dillie, Adèle Anderson and most recent member Liza Pulman are bringing their hilarious show to Croydon's Ashcroft Theatre on Friday.

So what keeps bringing the group back together?

Dillie said: “When it's going well it's the most fun you can have in the world. It really is.

“You roll out on stage and we just keep the audience roaring with laughter until the very end.

“I don't know what it is but we seem to have a happy knack of making people laugh at the world and forget their troubles.

“There's something about music which makes you forget your troubles more than straight stand-up.”

Combining music with satirical comedy, Fascinating Aida are one of the last legal pleasures left and the success of their current show is proof the girls are as biting and topical as ever.

The trio may have aged since they first hit the stage three decades ago, but like a fine wine their act has matured from being cautiously frivolous to fearlessly sticking their stilettos into everything from Gordon Brown to D-list celebrities.

Although Dillie is relieved she's no longer “the gurning idiot at the piano”.

She said: “Before I was always desperate to please and would do any damn thing to get a laugh.

“I'm much more cagey now about what my comic persona is on stage. I know who I am now and much more comfortable in my own skin.”

Fascinating Aïda. The Ashcroft Theatre, Park Lane, Croydon. April 16. 7.45pm. 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk