Review: HEATED RIVALRY: THE UNAUTHORIZED MUSICAL PARODY, Underbelly Soho

If you’re not chronically online, you might have missed the Heated Rivalry psychosis that took hold of the internet at the end of last year. The Canadian phenomenon, adapted for television by Jacob Tierney and based on the Game Changers book series by Rachel Reid, follows two closeted hockey players who play for rival teams as they fall in love with one another. It thrust unknown actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie into stardom and infiltrated pop culture instantly.

As for everything popular, a handful of parodies hit the entertainment business, from SNL to the American stage. Now, one of these theatrical productions has come to London. Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody is simply hilarious. Dylan MarcAurele writes an abridged 75-minute run-through of the show where original songs coexist with referential numbers, creating an endlessly amusing and entertaining mix. The lyrics are so comically unpredictable that the piece is positively blindsiding. 

The production is unafraid of being silly in every possible aspect. The writing is proudly OTT, laughing alongside the crowd at the IP it’s spoofing. The humour is layered: though securely rooted in parody, the strands of social satire and its critique of the industry are tied together with in-jokes and brilliant meta-observations. It may be all fun and games on the surface, but Marcaurele knows what he’s doing. 

Alan Kliffer’s direction ensures a pitch-perfect pace: the company (Zheng Xi Yong as Shane, Joseph Dann as Ilya, and Andrew Berlin, Sylvie Stenson, and May Tether in a collection of riotous character) don’t linger on the gags, nor do they overdo the hilarity of the script. There isn’t any vanity in their acknowledgement of how funny they are. They move smoothly, playing the quips seriously and breezing through the laugh-out-loud score with pipes for days.

The cast is naughty, quick, and shameless in their deliveries. Tether is a continuously endearing narrator, framing the plot with wit and charm. She blows the roof off with a strong vocal performance – this, in fairness, is the case for everybody involved. Xi Yong and Dann are equally impressive in both their comic timing and sung parts, while Berlin is a powerful, independently comical support. Stenson might start off understated as Shane’s mother, but grows into carving an unignorable presence in conjunction with Berlin.

Ironically, the material doesn’t even come close to how risqué the series is. If Tierney goes for hot and steamy rather than profound, Marcaurele builds a solid gay romp in every sense. Cross-dressing, flamboyance, and unrestricted exuberance are the foundations of this celebration of what Heated Rivalry has become for its audience.

Ultimately, while it pokes fun, it also recognises the value of the IP and the reasons behind its success. Mind you, it’s viciously tongue-in-cheek and most probably not something that a humourless Heated Rivalry purist would like in the slightest, but it hits the satirical bullseye. We can even close an eye when it comes to the AI graphics in Sully Ross's set design.

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody runs at Underbelly Soho until 1 November.

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