What happens when you turn the climate crisis into a love story? You get Hot Mess, a clever and fun new musical that shouldn't work on paper but absolutely does on stage.
The idea is simple but brilliant: Earth and Humanity are in a relationship. At first, it's all hearts and flowers. Humanity adores Earth, and Earth thinks Humanity is wonderful. But slowly, things start to go wrong. Humanity gets careless. Earth gets hurt. Sound familiar?
Danielle Steers plays Earth with real warmth and power. She makes you care deeply about a character who is literally a planet. Tobias Turley plays Humanity, and he gets the balance just right - charming at first, then thoughtless, but never completely villainous. After all, Humanity doesn't mean to cause harm. That's kind of the point.
The songs are catchy and modern, the kind you might find yourself humming on the way home. The jokes land well, and there are plenty of them. The show moves quickly and never feels preachy, even though it has something important to say.
Yes, the metaphor is pretty obvious. Yes, you can see where it's going. But that doesn't matter because the show is so entertaining and the performers are so good. It takes a huge subject and makes it feel personal and emotional.
Hot Mess proves that theatre can tackle big issues without being boring or heavy-handed. It's funny, it's moving, and it might just make you think differently about our planet. What more could you want from a night out?
It runs until 8 November. Tickets: here.
Photos: Helen Murray