This is a farcical musical parody of the popular Canadian TV series Heated Rivalry. It is about two ice hockey players who, while playing for competing teams, actually have a great homosexual attraction for each other.
The writers Trevor Ashley and Phil Scott make no claims other than their intention to write an outrageous, adult, raunchy comedy. It was clear from the press night audience that this is exactly what most of them had come for, but for anyone unfamiliar with the Canadian TV series the point of it was baffling. From the very beginning the tone was set by the MC (Ross Chisari) in the role of “Puck”, dressed in a costume revealing his pectoral muscles and bottom. He was hyper-camp with a self-satisfied smug expression most of the time, which rapidly became wearing. Casting him as Puck was quite clever as a reference, obviously, to ice hockey but also to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. At the beginning of the play, he starts talking in a version of iambic pentameter, but this, like so many potentially interesting ideas is soon dropped for the hyperactive simulation of sexual activity which dominates the production.
The two hockey players were Shane Hollandaise (Sario Solomon) and Ilya Stroganoff (Jason Leigh Winter), parodies of the characters in the TV series. Winter put on a not very convincing Russian accent and at one stage appeared to be the son of Vladimir Putin, allowing for some topical gags. This could have provided the opportunity for an interesting plot line, but this was not developed.
The final cast member was Diana Vickers in the role of “The Diva”. She played a range of characters including take-offs of Claudia Winkleman and Céline Dion dressed in what were, I am sure, intended to be quite absurd costumes.
The music was loud and beat driven in various styles including versions of some well-known pop numbers. All the performers were miked and were amplified, of which I question the need in such a small performance space.
There was no plot worth talking about and the production had a feeling of self-indulgence. Much of the humour was adolescent and although it was billed as raunchy, and there were plenty of naked male chests and bottoms on display, there was no full-frontal nudity. It had the feeling of an undergraduate production wanting to be outrageous but lacking any original ideas. It did not need to be two hours long; cutting it back to a single act would have at least relieved some of the repetition. In his programme notes Trevor Ashley says it “makes you wonder whether someone should have intervened much earlier”. I tend to agree.
Deep-Heat Rivalry is on at The Other Palace until 11th October. Tickets are available from https://theotherpalace.co.uk/
Reviewer: Paul Ackroyd
Reviewed:16th September 2026
North West End UK Rating: