Making its debut at the Fringe, Hot Mess is a bold pop musical that reimagines the climate crisis as an epic love story, an original romcom about love, hope and break-ups.

After drifting aimlessly around the cosmos for eons, Earth finally finds its match... Humanity. The early days are golden: sparks fly, wheat is harvested, technology flourishes. But this cosmic power couple’s fiery romance soon spirals into a Hot Mess. 

West End performers Danielle Steers and Tobias Turley play Earth and Humanity respectively. The pair take audiences to the heart of a storybook romance that erupts into a full-blown planetary soap opera, rocketing through over 200,000 years of history as Earth and Humanity struggle to make things work. The musical turns the climate emergency into a darkly comical show which doesn’t ask how we got here, but whether or not the relationship is worth saving. 

‘We are so thrilled that our musical Hot Mess will be making its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer,’ say writers Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote over email. ‘The climate crisis is such an overwhelming issue, and talking about it can often feel really paralysing. We wanted to create a musical that reminds us of the urgency of this issue, but in a way that is also entertaining, relatable, and sometimes ridiculous.’

Hot Mess, Pleasance Courtyard, Wednesday 30 July–Monday 25 August, 3.10pm; picture: Mark Senior.