Sports romance drama Heated Rivalry has a highly well-deserved reputation as a piece of cult entertainment, mostly due to its graphic romantic scenes and the fact that it features two very attractive men kissing. A lot. From a STARBURST perspective, both lead actors have been catapulted into the world of genre entertainment, thanks in part to the success of the show.
Its success has also meant that not one, not two, but three parody shows have come to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. All competing against each other (the rivalry has been, shall we say, heated). We reviewed one of the other shows here, but they are all very different. Puck Bunnies is perhaps the most remarkable of the three, being a Drag King show that both wildly deviates from the source material, but lovingly and accurately returns to the original when it’s got an excuse to be horny.
Puck Bunnies open with a narrator; a half-human, half-machine, all sexy hybrid called the Zamboner. It’s here to keep the plot going, and the innuendo levels high. This is a drag show first and foremost, after all. Its burlesque roots are on full display at times, especially when the performers build up the atmosphere to get a Richter-scale level laugh from the audience.
Our main characters, Ilya and Shane, arrive. It’s a drag king show, so muscle body suits and jock-straps are on full display. Sex jokes fly thick, fast and in every possible direction. Not a single surface is left uncovered when it comes to camp humour. The songs (and dance routines) are very well done; this is a show that is flat out funny from the start, and expect to use your dirtiest laugh for the entire hour. They are other characters, other sub-plots and yes, that scene in Russian, if you know you know. It’s treated with an equal measure of passion and silliness. Delightful stuff.
Puck Bunnies is a celebration of queer joy and horny fandom. There’s an incredible amount of attention to detail with every bit of the show lovingly sent up. A must-see for Heated Rivalry fans with a sense of humour.
