Deep-Heat Rivalry at The Other Palace Studio Review
Photo: Mark Senior
The only word that can come to mind after watching Deep Heat Rivalry at The Other Palace Studio is… outrageous. Outrageous and… genius?
Think your local panto meets musical theatre night at Heaven.
Or - in this case - hit teen mini-series meets director and writer, Trevor Ashley.
Deep Heat Rivalry is only “loosely” (we are quickly informed) based on Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid; following the lives of two ice hockey players who fall in love over the course of eight years. The only catch: they are each others’ biggest rival.
Shane Hollander becomes Shane Hollandaise, and Ilya Rozanov is now Ilya Stroganoff. And that’s not where the insanity ends. Ross Chisari plays ‘Puck’, (yes - the one you’re thinking of) who frames the piece, narrating in a lilting iambic beat.
The company is completed by Diana Vickers who is listed as ‘Diva’, however through the night she steps into the shoes (and voices) of Céline Dion, Sutton Foster, and Nicole Scherzinger, singing show-stopping musical theatre ballads to bring the house down.
On paper, it seems like an absolute disaster. A super camp, overly woke, almost-breach-of-copyright, retelling of a ‘book-tok’ ice hockey romance? But in Panto land, anything goes (as Vickers sings), and Deep Heat Rivalry ticks every box.
The songs are fantastically picked; from Donna Summer’s ‘Hot stuff’, to legendary camp musical theatre repertoire, ‘Taylor the Latte Boy’, all with clever lyric changes which support the story.
The script is filled with quips and references, probably too many to catch on first viewing. Most of them are incredibly inappropriate, but you are warned at the beginning of the show that this is what you signed up for.
As often comes with panto, there are many moments of audience participation. If you enjoy going up on stage and getting really stuck in, (or kissing one of the actors) this is definitely the show for you. I’d get practising your best limbo technique in advance, though!
One of the most impressive parts about this show is how much energy the cast gives. It’s hard to imagine them doing it night after night, as you’re worn out enough just watching it!
Deep Heat Rivalry has a much wider audience appeal than what you might think, and no doubt is set to be a huge success. It runs at The Other Palace until the 11th October, and we recommend you book quickly; this is a show you do not want to miss!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Written by Sarah P for Theatre and Tonic, September 2026.