After heating up London and scoring rave reviews, Trevor Ashley’s outrageously camp, gloriously filthy musical parody Deep-Heat Rivalry is heading home to Australia, with seasons announced for Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 2027.
Written by Olivier Award-nominated Australian theatre favourite Trevor Ashley and acclaimed cabaret performer and composer Phil Scott, the five-star London hit is a shamelessly naughty send-up of the hockey romance phenomenon Heated Rivalry, serving up forbidden love, locker room lust, outrageous musical numbers and more than a little nudity.
Following its London season, where critics hailed the show as a “puckishly filthy delight”, Deep-Heat Rivalry is ready to get Australian audiences hot under the collar.
Loosely inspired by a certain hit TV series (and we mean very loosely), this camp, chaotic, and deliciously inappropriate comedy smashes together locker room drama, forbidden romance, parody songs, and absolutely no knowledge of sport whatsoever.
Add in full frontal nudity (yes, really), shameless innuendo, with a score that ranges from power ballad to party pop, and you’ve got a show that’s less about hockey and more about hooking up.
Deep-Heat Rivalry follows sworn enemies Shane Hollandaise and Ilya Stroganoff, two outrageously talented, aggressively handsome hockey stars whose on-ice clashes are the stuff of legend. But behind the bruises, body checks, and barely concealed tension lies a secret neither of them is prepared for: they are madly, inconveniently, and spectacularly in love.
From the cottage to the locker room, no part of this love story is safe from Ashley and Scott’s particular brand of theatrical mischief. Expect big voices, bigger personalities, questionable sporting ability and enough sexual tension to melt the ice.
With its Australian premiere timed for two of the country’s biggest celebrations of queer culture, Deep-Heat Rivalry promises a night of high-camp comedy, outrageous performances and absolutely no subtlety. The gloves are off. The shirts won’t be far behind.
Deep-Heat Rivalry will play at Chapel Off Chapel, as part of the 2027 Midsumma Festival, from 21 – 31 January, before playing at the Foundry Theatre, as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, from 2 – 14 March 2027.
Image: Deep-Heat Rivalry (supplied)