There was a whole lot of revelry with a touch of rivalry last night as the Callaway sisters shared the stage for their cabaret show, Sibling Revelry. Anne is a multi-award jazz headliner and Liz is a Tony-nominated Broadway star.

As expected, the pair is completely different from each other but that doesn’t remove the special dynamic they bring to the stage. They obviously have a sisterly rapport with one another, and underlying their witty rivalry is a whole lot of love. Indeed, the anecdotes are tales that only a family member would be able to tell. Whether they are embarrassing or full of pride, the sisters’ eyes always meet as though just one glance alludes to a whole conversation the audience aren’t hearing.

Anne Callaway is the brilliant mind behind the catchy theme tune to the American 90s sitcom, ‘The Nanny’. The pair sang it together and delighted the audience with a reprise at this show. Meanwhile, the voice of Liz Callaway is most recognisable as that of Anastasia in the 1997 20th Century Fox animation. It would have been brilliant to hear her return to her role with one of the much-loved songs from the film, but perhaps it just doesn’t meet the demographic of their audience.

Most of the songs they choose are from the Frank Loesser era and can go straight over the heads of younger audience members. Still, with two such powerful voices, it is hard not to be blown away. Their song choices range from stunningly emotional songs such as ‘My Buddy/Old Friend’ (sung by Anne) and ‘The Story Goes On’ (sung beautifully by Li), to the upbeat, hilarious performances of ‘Some People’, in which they duet, and ‘Another Hundred Lyrics’, which Liz sings as a solo. However, there is no match for Anne’s rendition of ‘Don’t Rain On My Parade’. According to the audience’s reaction, I was not alone in thinking that this is the best cover of the Streisand song I have ever heard.

A huge medley ends the show with songs that reflect the evolution of sisterhood, as they take on songs like ‘Bosom Buddies’, ‘What Is This Feeling’, ‘If Momma Was Married’, ‘A Boy Like That’ and ‘Nowadays’. They are accompanied throughout the show by pianist, MD and arranger Alex Reybeck, as well as Colin McCann on the drums and Rob Hutchinson on the bass.

The Callaway sisters set the standard for what all good cabaret should be. There is a charm to the show that can only be brought by a sisterly affection and a combination of two massive amounts of talent.

Sibling Revelry is playing at the Hippodrome Casino until 11 July. For more information and tickets, see the Hippodrome Casino website. Photo by Darren Bell.