Book: Ellie Coote
Director: Ellie Coote
Music: Jack Godfrey
Lyrics: Jack Godfrey
At a time of climate crisis, it is tempting to imagine what Earth might say if she could speak. Hot Mess, the new musical by Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, takes up that idea, reimagining our long history with the planet as a turbulent romance in the style recalling The Last Five Years.
Danielle Steers (SIX The Musical) plays Earth, affectionately called E, while Tobias Turley (Mamma Mia!) is Hu, short for Humanity. E begins by lamenting past failed relationships, dinosaurs, she notes, were wiped out by an asteroid, before meeting Hu, a fur-jacketed newcomer who arrives some 4.5 billion years after her birth. At first, they fall wildly in love, full of playful passion. There are also the first sparks of tension over ownership, hinting at the early stirrings of private property before the industrial age. It doesn’t matter at first. With the industrial revolution, however, their dynamic turns sour. Humanity’s exploitation of resources transforms the romance into a toxic entanglement.
The show is rich with clever wordplay that works on both levels, the human and the planetary. Lines like “I’m not picky, just naturally selective” and “there are some gases down below” land with laughter. Yet the humour is underscored by the inevitable breakdown: Hu grows greedy, taking more than E can give, until they break up both seek other partners.
As a musical that works on many levels, it occasionally stumbles in its balance. The Industrial Revolution, arguably the most crucial turning point in humanity’s relationship with Earth, is given surprisingly little weight. When E offers Hu coal, oil, and gas, it signals a profound and irreversible change, shaping the course of human existence ever since. Yet in the show this moment passes almost too quickly. Similarly, the metaphor of the moon landing as a romantic affair feels oddly misplaced. To suggest that pollution and rising temperatures wound less deeply than infidelity imposes a default monogamous framing that is both narrow and Western-centred. After all, how many people were truly “involved” in that single moon landing?
Still, the final satire works brilliantly. The musical sharpens when it turns to contemporary failings: Hu stubbornly clings to fossil fuels long after renewables have been available for decades, driven by a neoliberal hunger for growth, speed, and profit. The toxic relationship metaphor cuts sharply here, showing how humanity excuses itself again and again while refusing to change.
The finale strikes a surprisingly hopeful note. Earth rejects her destructive partner and looks towards new beginnings. Yet outside the theatre, the reality is less forgiving. Earth cannot simply walk away from us, making humanity the kind of abusive partner one cannot escape. Hot Mess may be light in tone and entertaining in spirit, but its message lingers long after the curtain falls, a reminder of the nightmare we risk becoming.
Runs until 25 September 2025 | Image: Mark Senior
