Hot Mess review – A cosmic love story with humour, heart and star power

Credit Mark Senior

★★★★

Hot Mess is a brand new musical by Jack Godfrey, whose 42 Balloons and Babies The Musical proved his gift for pairing smart storytelling with irresistible melodies. His latest work takes that energy and launches it into space.

Danielle Steers, whose credits include Six and The Cher Show, plays Earth with glamour, wit and vulnerability. Alone after her beloved T Rex is wiped out by an asteroid, she meets Humanity, played by Tobias Turley, a charming, geeky optimist with an unexpected passion for planting wheat. Their romance spans millennia, glowing bright before crumbling into a battle of love and survival.

From Steers’ commanding opening number, the tone is set. Her voice fills the theatre with power and confidence. Godfrey’s pop style score is bouncy and infectious, with hooks that land instantly. In the heavier moments, however, some songs feel overpowered by their full band arrangement. A simple piano-led delivery could have carried far greater emotional weight.

Ellie Coote’s direction keeps the pace brisk while letting the story breathe. The set, designed by Shankho Chaudhuri, is deceptively simple at first glance but reveals itself as a playful and inventive playground for the story. Built from layered panels, hidden compartments and clever textures, it constantly transforms under Ryan Joseph Stafford’s lighting design. Light strips trace through the structure to create rain, stars and bursts of cosmic colour. At times, the effect is as if the entire set is hurtling through the galaxy, echoing the highs and lows of Earth and Humanity’s relationship and giving the world a constant sense of motion and wonder.

Steers and Turley are magnetic together. Their chemistry sparks in playful exchanges and soars in the big musical moments. Steers moves effortlessly from laugh-out-loud lines to heart-stopping vulnerability, while Turley’s warmth makes Humanity instantly likeable.

Hot Mess is one of the hottest tickets at the Fringe. It is funny, visually striking and performed with irresistible energy. If you miss it in Edinburgh, it transfers to Southwark Playhouse later this year and is well worth the trip. A cosmic love story that hurtles forward with humour, heart and star power.

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Show Information

Venue: Pleasance Two, Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

Dates: Until 25 August 2025 (not 18)

Time: 15:10 (ends 16:15)

Tickets: www.pleasance.co.uk

London transfer: Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Dates: 16 October – 8 November 2025

Times: 14:30 / 19:00 (65 minutes)

Tickets: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk