The reviews are in for Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody, which had its London press night at Underbelly Boulevard Soho on 13 October. Dylan MarcAurele’s roughly 70-minute send-up of the hit TV series about two closeted ice hockey rivals arrives after an Off-Broadway run and the Edinburgh Fringe, directed by Alan Kliffer, with Zheng Xi Yong as Shane and Joseph Dann, in his professional debut, as Ilya. It is not to be confused with Deep-Heat Rivalry, a different parody of the same series, which ran at The Other Palace Studio in September. The notices so far all come from the online and trade press, and they are warm: the critics agree that the score and the jokes land and that May Tether’s narrator steals scenes, but they split on Yong’s Shane and on how much a viewer needs to know the show to keep up.
The verdict: thirteen reviews in so far: four five-star notices, two at four and a half, five at four and one at three, plus London Theatre Reviews, which publishes no rating. Across the twelve that score, the average is just over 4.3 out of 5. No national paper has filed yet. May Tether’s narrator is the most praised performance; the leads divide opinion, and several critics remark on the shoestring set.
What are critics saying about Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody?
Attitude
"Funny, fierce and filthy"
Reviewer: Simon Button
Button hears that this is the best of the several parodies the series has spawned, and finds plenty to back that up, from MarcAurele’s catchy, quick-witted score to Zheng Xi Yong’s adorable Shane and Joseph Dann’s commanding Ilya, both of whom send up the TV leads’ mannerisms.
"…a parody that manages to be both irreverently daft and reverently heartfelt."
His only complaint is that it is over too quickly, with one coming-out subplot played for laughs rather than the tears it drew on television.
Theatre and Tonic
Reviewer: Penny Walshe
Walshe insists you do not need to have seen the series: her guest had not watched an episode and missed only a handful of the more niche jokes. She found the show well structured, briskly paced and full of nods for musical theatre fans as well as TV devotees.
"They’re instantly recognisable as their characters, have great chemistry and presence and are both fantastic singers"
She doubts the songs will trouble any awards for best score, but calls them hugely entertaining and sung with slick harmonies.
All That Dazzles
"Pucking hilarious lyrics, phenomenal comic timing and camp characterisations"
Reviewer: Aanya Sisodia
Sisodia was won over by the way the writing mixes references to the series with wider pop culture without ever tipping into cringe.
"MarcAurele’s camp writing takes the musical parody to another level."
She credits Kliffer’s direction, Devin Cameron’s lighting and the props team, and singles out Tether’s narrator and Dann’s ballad “Big Ass, Cold Heart”, concluding that every joke and reference lands.
North West End
Reviewer: Zain Russell
Russell calls the music the production’s biggest strength, and counts the audience member drafted in to play Scott Hunter among the evening’s highlights. Tether is his standout.
"Honestly, the only real criticism is that it ends too soon."
He would happily see it expanded into a full-length musical.
LouReviews
Reviewer: Louise Penn
Penn calls the show gloriously filthy and impressively silly, and gives the director the credit for keeping it on the right side of the line:
"…directed by Alan Kliffer, who understands just how far to go to keep the comedy sharp."
She finds the songs on the nose and technically sharp, agrees that newcomers to the series will keep up, and says she will be watching for Dann in future.
Harry Theatre Life
Reviewer: Melissa
Melissa gives most of the credit to the company of five, and especially to Andrew Berlin, Sylvie Stenson and Tether, whose quick-change multi-rolling she treats as the joke rather than a budget necessity.
"The tenderness between the two leads in the quieter moments makes the comedy land even harder."
She also enjoyed how much the low-fi staging gets out of a hockey stick and a lighting rig.
BroadwayWorld
"The smash hit parody comes to London"
Reviewer: Cindy Marcolina
Marcolina finds it simply hilarious, with layers of satire and industry in-jokes under the parody, and a company that plays the gags straight rather than milking them.
"It may be all fun and games on the surface, but Marcaurele knows what he’s doing."
She praises Tether’s narration and the vocals right across the cast; her one reservation is the AI graphics in the set.
Everything Theatre
"Big butts, bigger ballads and a whole lot of homoerotic hockey make for a riotously good time"
Reviewer: Rob Warren
Warren admires the score and the one-liners, Tether’s belting and Dann’s deadpan Ilya, and names Yong’s Cabaret-style ballad the best song of the night. He credits the cast’s total commitment:
"…it never feels like a joke, which is a hard feat to achieve in a parody musical."
His quibbles are the blackouts while the actors reset, some unconvincing scenic artwork and the gamble of audience participation, and he wishes good luck to anyone who has not seen the series.
Theatre Weekly
Reviewer: Burong Zeng
Zeng reads the show as a knowing celebration of women’s appetite for male romance, voiced by its trio of “Susans”. The leads cannot quite match the screen chemistry, in Zeng’s view, but the score makes up for it.
"The songs are catchy, quick-witted and destined for cult status…"
The review ends by calling it a heart-warming treat for the colder months.
Jackstage
"An absolute ball... or two!"
Reviewer: Georgina Coram
Coram picks out the gym scene and “Big Ass, Cold Heart” as her favourite moments, and thinks the supporting trio steal the show.
"This incredibly silly, outrageous show has everything you could want from a musical about gay hockey players"
Her reservations are technical: an unbalanced sound mix in the auditorium and a set that shows its fringe budget.
First Night Magazine
"Top-tier gay parody is bottomless fun"
Reviewer: Guillermo Nazara
Nazara admits he could not get through the series, and still found the show hysterical, tightly structured and well paced, with neatly rhymed lyrics.
"…it’s awfully amusing, cleverly stupid, and deliciously over-the-top from start to finish…"
He is the hardest of the critics on Yong, whose delivery he found one-note, but calls Dann superb and gives Tether a special mention.
The Reviews Hub
"Frothy TV parody"
Reviewer: John Cutler
Cutler is the coolest voice here. He enjoys the camp, the hummable songs and Berlin’s sparkling comic turn, but rates the jokes as decent rather than more, and warns that some in-jokes need a working knowledge of the series and of Gen Z preoccupations.
"…enjoyable pantomime froth that, like the books and TV it parodies, treats queer romance as a headline event."
London Theatre Reviews
"Susan steals the show"
Reviewer: James Dix
Dix thinks the show’s secret weapon is Tether’s Susan.
"She’s so perfect for this role, and the larger-than-life wig matches the larger-than-life character."
He found Yong’s Shane wooden and his solos so-so, but Dann superbly cast, and he hopes the show can follow Six and Titanique.
Production photographs by Matt Crockett.
Two parodies of the same series have now opened in London within a month: the critics’ verdict on Trevor Ashley’s Deep-Heat Rivalry at The Other Palace Studio is in our earlier review roundup.
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody runs at Underbelly Boulevard Soho until 1 November 2026.
