Hot Mess
25 October 2025
Southwark Playhouse Elephant
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Hot Mess, currently running at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 8 November, is a new musical constructing a rom com narrative around Earth and Humanity.
After a billion years of bad dates, Earth has finally found the one, Hugh (Humanity). A whirlwind romance ensues, but when Hugh focusses on using her resources to further his development while clearly harming Earth, things go off the rails.
The idea behind this new musical is certainly unique, and surprisingly fun. Earth is a powerhouse, not just due to Danielle Steers’ stunning vocals. She’s the only planet in the known universe that sustains life, and she knows it. With single cell organisms not offering enough, and her beloved T-Rex only being short-lived due to a meteor incident, she’s left dreaming of the perfect match. At first, she’s sceptical when she meets Hugh, a new population that starts domesticating wheat (is that all you eat?) by trying to tame Earth herself. But soon, sparks fly and she offers up her resources to facilitate the industrial revolution. But as humanity is want to do, Hugh goes to far.
Presented through a plethora of rock-infused pop songs, it’s a fun romp that speeds through humanity’s history in a humorous rom com. Tobias Turley’s vocal talent is a delightful match for Steers, creating a fizzing atmosphere throughout. Staged with a small but very well constructed set, it’s lively and buzzing show that thoroughly entertains.
At only one hour run time, it could definitely have a little more meat to it, the show whizzing past way too quickly. Hot Mess has a winning combination of humour and emotion, swirled together with a compelling narrative and a very surprising ending. I would love to see an extended version, but even at its truncated runtime, it’s a brilliant time at the theatre. I’m still humming several of the buzzy songs.
