Fascinating Aida star sings Hollywood gold

Music and film converge in Liza Pulman Sings Hollywood.

Among the songs will be As Time Goes By, Moon River, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Just The Way You Look Tonight and Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.

“It’s about as close as I am going to get to Hollywood,” laughs Liza who brings the show to Eastbourne’s Devonshire Park Theatre on Sunday April 3 - book on 01323 412000 or online.

Liza’s dad was screenwriter Jack Pulman (1925-1979), the man behind the celebrated TV adaptation I, Claudius starring Derek Jacobi in the 1970s.

“My mum played Claudius’ last wife, the one who poisoned him! So I grew up surrounded by writers and directors and actors. My father always had a great love of the movies. When we introduced the video recorder, my father spent many hours watching old films. Sadly, he died when I was only ten.

“But it has been really nice with the adaptation of War and Peace. My father did the adaptation of War and Peace starring Anthony Hopkins, and so many people have been saying how much they enjoyed it, which is lovely. War and Peace was in the early 70s so it was a little bit too early for me, but I do remember I, Claudius. My dad was never afraid of a big book! But through my father, I just really got into the movies. Movies have always been my go-to place in happiness and in sadness, and this seemed a golden opportunity to put together a show combining those two things, my love of music and my love of film.

“When I started working on this show, I thought I was going to do a great big exploration of Hollywood, but then I realised I couldn’t do that. It was all starting to seem a bit too Barry Norman for my liking. It’s not really who I am. As an artist, you have got to sing something that really says something to you. You have got to have that attachment to the songs for a one-woman show, so I put away all the ‘In 1923 D W Griffiths did such and such’ type approach. I just went back to the music.”

The show is the result – a great way to fill the Fascinating Aida hiatus, caused by fellow Fascinating Aida star Adèle Anderson’s cancer and recovery.

“She’s doing really well. She had a really bad time of it, and she was pretty floored by it. But she is beginning to get stronger all the time. She is doing well. She has been back home since before Christmas. It’s a slow process. There is always something that knocks you back, but she is getting there. You get rid of something and then something else happens… but we are hoping to be back together again next year, for Spring 2017.”