Best approach to repairing wall ready for tiling?

We're refitting our bathroom. After removing the tiles we saw that the old shower leaked into the wall causing soggy crumbly plaster. We have removed the loose plaster. We're now left with a mix of solid plaster and bare brick. I'd like to patch it up and make it flat ready for tiling.

What's the best way to do this? I heard that using plaster would mean that I'd need to wait 4 weeks for it to dry before we can tile. Is there another method to avoid this?

I will be burying pipework for the shower. I will be tanking the whole shower area.

Adding aquapanel boards here seems like it would be difficult to match the same thickness of plaster and to fill the odd shape. And it would be a pity to remove otherwise good existing plaster from wall.

Consider a Schluter Kerdi-Board.

Swwils said:

Consider a Schluter Kerdi-Board.

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I think I'd have similar issues as I would with Aquapanel if I used that?

Is sand and cement render an option? Does it dry faster than plaster?