Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorised Musical Parody (Underbelly Boulevard Soho)

Last Updated on October 16, 2026

This slick musical parody of the steamy ice hockey-themed TV series is unashamedly explicit, sharp as a blade, and funny as… puck, but never loses love or respect for its characters or original fanbase

Imagine lacing up a cosy pair of winter boots, donning a chunky jacket and grabbing your stick on a winter’s morning. But instead of thick soles for a brisk walk in the countryside, your boots have steel blades attached to their soles, leaving you balancing precariously on a couple of millimetres of metal on sheet ice.  I can’t think of a more fitting metaphor for Heated Rivalry – The Unauthorised Musical Parody, the new musical spoof on the runaway hit TV series about ice hockey players. This new production, which debuted off-Broadway in May and enjoyed a phenomenally successful run at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, deftly skates the razor-thin line between parody and loving tribute, delighting newbies while never alienating the dedicated series fanbase.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be aware of the cultural mini-phenomenon that is Heated Rivalry. What started life as a series of novels by Rachel Reid called Game Changers was developed into what sounded like a rather niche ice hockey-themed US TV show: Heated Rivalry.  The show first aired in the US on HBO Max in November 2025 and went on to average an eye-popping 10.6 million viewers per episode. The show has since been aired/streamed around the world (including in the UK) and Season 2 is on the cards for April 2027.  NYC-based writer and composer Dylan MarcAurele (who also wrote 2024 Fringe hit Pop Off, Michaelangelo!) says he knew within the first 20 mins of episode 1 that he wanted to write a parody of the show; was writing songs while the series was still airing; and completed the score in an astonishing three weeks.  The show premiered off-Broadway in May 2026 to great acclaim and was one of the runaway hits of the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe.

Like the TV series, the parody stage show now playing in Soho is set against the backdrop of a fictional professional ice hockey league and follows the secret romantic relationship between starry-eyed young Canadian star player Shane Hollander (Zheng Xi Yong, recently seen in American Psycho at the Almeida) and po-faced Russian star player Ilya Rozanov (Joseph Dann in his professional stage debut) as they become the star players of rival professional teams. The story is told through the lens of the fan-narrator Susan (May Tether, who also plays Shane’s girlfriend Jessica), while Sylvie Stetson and the brilliant Andrew Berlin play all the remaining characters including Ilya’s dad; Shane’s mom; Ilya’s girlfriend Svetlana; coaches, players and other minor characters.

The proximity of the actors to the audience in this tiny theatre and the sparse set and props (all of which feel like they were created in school drama club) mean that the show does not lose its irreverent and slightly anarchic Fringe vibe. The entirety of the set and props consists of three boards that can be turned around to represent various backdrops; the odd table and chair;  sports equipment; flags, dolls and a fruit basket.  When Ilya and Shane share a bed, they stand up against a board with pillows stuck to it and hold a sheet up to cover their bodies. It’s not rocket science but it really works here.

But don’t be fooled by the low rent aesthetic – there is nothing slapdash about this slick show. There are inherent challenges in squeezing even the highlights of an entire TV series into 70 minutes on stage.  MarcAurele deftly gets around this by creating the fan-narrator character Susan as a narrative framing device. She not only allows for some gentle pokes at the show’s target audience (what every mom wants after the kids go to bed and hubby goes to his man cave is… gay hockey players!) but also narrates parts of Ilya and Shane’s story to speed things up and bridges time gaps with a simple “two weeks later” or similar.  It’s clever and keeps things pacy, adding to the tight structure of the show.  Each actor (except the two leads) play multiple parts and with minimal costume changes they transform instantly and convincingly into these different characters. Other than the two leads (who fully inhabit their roles as the eternally optimistic Shane and terminally morose Ilya) I was most impressed by Andrew Berlin and the range of minor characters he plays with gusto and great comic timing. There is also a terrific sequence in the smoothie shop where an audience member is briefly co-opted as a cast member for one scene – on the night I visited our volunteer seemed ready to stay on stage till the end of the show!

The singing and harmonies, too, seem assured and effortless throughout with not a duff note among the cast.  But the real secret sauce here is the score itself.  The genres veer from EDM synth numbers via power ballads and even a slight country & western twang to more classic Broadway numbers, but without fail they are the kind of songs that get you humming along and tapping your feet after only one listen. The sparkling lyrics are a delight – linguistically clever, deliciously filthy and raucously funny.  Given the subject matter (rhyming “pining” with “69-ing”, anybody…?) it would be easy to go too far and produce something crass or offensive, but the songs remain buoyant and respectful of the original show – and of the large LGBTQ+ segment of the audience.  The other secret weapon is that the characters never play the songs for laughs – every number is delivered with disarming sincerity, so that the absurdity comes from the contrast between the heartfelt romantic music and the camp, explicit humour. It’s hilarious and infectiously joyful stuff, and by the end I was ready to buy a soundtrack.

In a world where books, movies and stage shows seem to get longer and longer, it is not often that you walk out of a performance wanting more but that was definitely the case with Heated Rivalry.  Even for those who are not overly familiar with the TV show, it is a deliciously camp romp with a heart.  It works not only because of the strong soundtrack and tight narrative, but mostly because it is underpinned by a deep affection for the underlying source material; the characters; and the show’s fandom. The show manages a fine balancing act between affectionate homage and sharp-edged spoof, and never treats parody as an excuse for lazy comedy. Yes the jokes poke fun at the characters and genre and are sometimes as sharp as the blades that the characters skate on, but at the heart of the show lies love and respect for the story, the characters, and the universal story of struggle for acceptance and love that they represent. You will leave the theatre loving the characters as much as you laughed at them, and for a full 70 minutes you will feel joyful and forget the sorry state of the world today.  Get your skates on and book while you can still get tickets!

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is on at the Underbelly Boulevard Soho 11 October to 1 November with nightly shows Tuesday to Sunday (also matinees on Saturdays and Sundays). Run time is 1 hr 10 min and tickets starting from £21.50 are available here.

If you are looking for more West End theatre, have a look at our review of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Underbelly Boulevard Soho
6 Walker’s Court
Soho
London
W1F 0BT

Telephone: 0207 432 3860
Email: tickets@underbellyboulevard.com