Hot Mess | Southwark Playhouse Elephant

Crash landing at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant, Hot Mess is ready to have you laughing at every chance it gets, nodding along with all the songs and leaving the theatre actually thinking about the fate of humanity. 

With a book by Ellie Coote, Hot Mess follows Earth, who after countless bad dates finally puts herself back out there. And then she finds the one. Humanity. We watch sparks fly and technology evolve, but will it turn into a hot mess? 

The award winning duo behind 42 Balloons has reunited for this fantastic production. Alongside Coote who wrote the book and is director is Jack Godfrey who wrote the music and lyrics. Ultimately, Hot Mess is a high energy romcom that is no doubt going to become a cult classic.  

The set by Shankho Chaudhuri is a futuristic home for both Earth and Humanity, covered in shelves for trinkets and steps for actors to climb. Both sides are covered with potted plants, as the musical progresses, more and more of Humanity’s belongings litter the set. Chaudhuri seamlessly blends the technological aspects with earthly vibes. 

Chaudhuri also creates the costumes with stark contrasts between the two characters. Earth wears greens and blues, with a splash of pink and touches of florals. Earth's costumes darken in colour throughout the show as the conflicts spiral. For Humanity, his costumes start out beige, looking like an explorer, donned in glasses and a fuzzy gilet. His costume morphs during the show to display the evolution and change of humanity, his costume becoming closer to a business casual style. 

Tobias Turley is the charming yet thoughtless Humanity. Constantly doting on Earth, Humanity constantly tries to keep improving and moving forwards, creating new inventions and gadgets. Turley conveys the shy and endearing nature of Humanity before he blossoms into a charismatic, confident version that we see later into the show. He lands joke after joke, having the whole audience in stitches. 

Turley’s stand out song is Tomorrow where we see Humanity struggling to juggle everything he’s put onto his plate, including his relationship. Like the song title suggests, Humanity is going to deal with everything tomorrow. The song is poppy and upbeat, which suits Turley’s voice perfectly showing his range wonderfully. 

Danielle Steers is the formidable Earth, feeling authentic and powerful. She makes the audience care for her character, translating real issues into a character that audiences can sympathise with. Her portrayal is raw and needed. Steers has a gorgeously rich voice, a large number for Earth is ‘Happy’ her voice radiates throughout the room leaving audiences speechless. 

Hot Mess tackles tricky topics, masked with bright colours and happy music which is a lovely departure from ways this message has been delivered in the past. It’s funny, yet meaningful, and has songs you’ll be humming along to on the way home. 

Hot Mess plays at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 08th November 2025.

Tickets and More Information

★★★★★ (5*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Helen Murray