Dillie Keane @ Norwich Playhouse.

Dillie Keane @ Norwich Playhouse

By MICHAEL DRAKE

If a planned West End season materialises for this talented lady the London cabaret scene has a treat in store.

The inspiration behind Fascinating Aida brought her one-woman show to Norwich on Saturday and kept a full house entertained with witty observations on some of life's relatively ordinary situations.

She is “a woman of a certain age” and plays on that with humour, pathos and cynicism, as in her own words, she “looks on love as a bit of a battleground”.

Lying flat upon the grand piano – at the keyboard of which her musical director, Russell Churney was an accompanying joy – to start her Average Morning, Dillie was hilarious in her view of life the morning after.

Douglas Kuhrt's lighting changes added much to the show, particularly in her acceptance, or otherwise, of the recently discovered “other woman”, Joyce, which is a play in itself – for Dillie is a great actress too.

She's a bit risqué at times and does tend to ramble during “thinking times” but she taps a nifty toe and, except for a few bars which scrape the bottom end of the register, diction is superb as she sings her own songs as if just telling a story. The erstwhile Sunday newspaper columnist is as keen as a newly-steeled knife.