Review: SIBLINGSHIP at Chapel Off Chapel

Siblingship is a fantastic fresh cabaret packed full of excellent song and dance numbers, as well as hits from the 90's and early 2000's. It will bring back nostalgic childhood memories for any Millennial and their parents and put a smile on your face.

Featuring the extremely talented real life siblings Daniel Assetta and Chiara Assetta, this cabaret is described as "A 'how-to' guide for surviving life, parents, and sharing the limelight." It does all this and more through slick choreography, impressive vocals, hilarious comedic delivery and touching poignant moments.

Never have I seen such a polished duo work so harmoniously together onstage. Even if Chiara did begin as Daniel's back up vocalist, as amusingly mentioned in the opening scene of Siblingship, both brother and sister are equally sensational triple threats. They can dance, sing and act their way through any challenge and perform as one unit effortlessly onstage. Daniel Assetta has a beautiful light tenor voice and Chiara Assetta can deliver an impressive belt. Their dancing is extremely well polished and skillful.

Their long history of performing together before the age of five has paid off for these talented siblings. Both are now well known for their musical theatre work within Australia. Daniel has featured in West Side Story, The Book of Mormon, Wicked, CATS and Chiara in Handa Opera Australia's West Side Story on Sydney Harbour, Good Omens The Musical and The Dismissal. They both have long bright careers ahead of them.

Tobias Madden has written a succinct and witty cabaret for the Assetta duo, that explores in a light hearted tone the politics of sibling rivalship and growing up in an Italian community. It will also bring back hilarious memories for anyone who has ever been entered into an Eisteddfod or young talent competition. The direction by Scott Irwin and Danielle Barnes is also slick and well executed by the Assetta siblings.

The four person band under the musical direction of Nicholas Griffin works well in this cabaret setting as does Griffin's orchestrations. At the beginning of the show and in scene transitions, memories of the siblings growing up and performing are shared in a photo and video compilation. Whoever put this together did an excellent job as it added to the storytelling process immensely.

The only disappointment is that this joyous cabaret was only in Melbourne for two performances. Hopefully it comes back. Siblingship will be appearing in Canberra on Sunday 27th October. More information can be found on https://www.siblingshipcabaret.com/

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