Going to see Fascinating Aida is like getting invited to a posh party which quickly gets out of control.

The hosts, all sequinned frocks and nice hair, try hard to be well behaved, but as the evening goes on they just can't help being naughty.

FA are bringing their posh party, aka their new show Barefaced Chic, to Cliffs Pavilion in Southend on April 14. A nationwide tour follows its successful West premiere at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.

A new team has been assembled for this evening of fun, with the multi-talents co-creator of Five Guys Named Mo Clarke Peters taking time off during his run in Chicago to direct.

The sets are by top theatre designer Nick Ormond, and FA's frocks are by Tomasz Starewksi, couturier to Sophie Rhys-Jones, among others.

After the melancholy theme Painting On The Glitz at the start of the show, the naughtiness soon sets in with the second song, Mr Springer, about dysfunctional Americans going on TV.

But, of course, like all the best dos, it is all done in the best possible taste. Our hosts are Dillie Keane, Adele Anderson and Issy van Randwyck, three performers who live by the wit of the songs and their talent as singers and gentle comediennes.

Even the show's first half''s storyline, featuring the trio getting ready for the show, is the loosest of loose scenarios.

What holds your attention throughout this full-length show is the wit and wisdom, playfulness and, yes, downright, naughtiness of it all.

Topics for songs include romantic and raunchy best sellers, the appearance of wrinkles, ski-ing, and genetically modified foods (featuring on stage a beetroot with legs).

But Fascinating Aida are never better than when they tackle the subject of love.

Issy van Randwyck's Image Of Judy, about a woman condemned to be in the shadow of her lover's old flame, was heartbreakingly tender.

In quite different mood, One More Campaign, led by Dillie Keane, about an old "general" entering the battlefield of love once again was funny and had a odd ring of truth about it.

There was weaker material and the between-song banter was too ragged at times. And Adele Anderson proved one of the new rules of modern living: there is nothing more boring than hearing somebody talking about their website.

But these criticisms aside, there is no doubting the talent of this trio who hold your attention with their songs about sinning.

Roger Love reviewed Barefaced Chic when it opened at the Theatre Royal, Brighton on March 22. It is at the Cliffs Pavilion, Station Road, Southend on April 14.

Viagra and genetically modified beetroot - nothing is safe from Fascinating Aida, at the Cliffs Pavilion on April 14

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