Hot Mess

Southwark Playhouse Elephant

So, this is all about the Earth and humanity dating... Songs are a bop, but the metaphors are a little odd. It's a bit of fun, mixed with a deeper message.

'Hot Mess' has landed at Southwark Playhouse, after its successful run this summer at the Edinburgh Fringe. It's a musical with two actors, 'The Earth' played by the out-of-this-world actress Danielle Steers, and 'Humanity' played by Tobias Turley. It's all about humanity, our life on earth and how we haven't been the kindest to our planet. The piece displays the message through the story being about Earth dating Humanity... 'Hugh Manity'. Of course, it's also a musical, and the songs by Jack Godfrey, who worked on 42 Balloons, are guaranteed to get stuck in your head. Catchy and striking. Whilst it is meaningful, you can't help but feel uncomfortable and cringe at the scene where humanity starts digging into Earth's oil reserve... Yes, ploughing fields... A very peculiar and unique intimate scene. It's just a short piece with a running time of 65 minutes, and you will leave wanting to be a better, greener person.

Both characters have a power struggle throughout the show. Earth rules the show at the beginning, until Humanity takes over the space and sweeps the space from under her feet without her noticing. Danielle Steers, as Earth, shows how she becomes drawn to Humanity, and their chemistry excites her. Tobias Turley plays an innocent, more vulnerable character at the beginning, then his personality becomes more excitable and busy with plans to take over the space. Their relationship becomes more fragmented, as Steers displays that his changes to her space make her unwell and weak. These changes he makes are not healthy. During the intimate scenes, the chemistry feels a little forced and unnatural. Whilst the pair are visibly comfortable with each other and close, it just does not have a clear and believable build-up. Danielle Steers is an enchanting actress; her vocal techniques, energy and bubbly personality make her an interesting watch. You are drawn to her, exactly how the audience should be, as she is the focus of the story. Their voices work well together!

Blue and green tones are incorporated into the set design and costumes created by Shankho Chaudhuri. These choices feed to the audience the setting of Earth. Whilst it is bright and fits the aesthetic of the show. It would have been interesting to see clearer changes to the set, how Humanity takes over and makes unhealthy changes to the surroundings. The writing almost feels animated because it is such an imaginative piece, and the creative design does not seem to match the artistic writing. However, this does ensure that your focus is fixed on the characters. Lighting designed by Ryan Joseph Stafford is wonderful, it reminds the audience that the show is about planets, and this aspect makes the message of the show stronger, because it is the most realistic aspect of the show and reminds you that the story is symbolising our reality.

It goes without saying, the show is quirky and is developing into a unique piece of theatre. Considering a great percentage of the new musicals we are seeing at the moment are adaptations of popular movies, it was refreshing to see a different story, and whilst it is light, the message is serious. The content doesn't yet feel like it is at its finest, and the characters deserve more attention to make their relationship more gradual. The ending feels so soon and abrupt. You almost crave a little realism when the two break up, a sprinkle of darkness and a closer look into how the relationship is affecting Earth and the greedy side of Humanity. At the end of the day, the message is about how humanity's actions have consequences, what kind of person does that make humanity, and how does it affect Earth? I think there is a bright future for this show, and it could help remind the audience to be more green. Let's not think about it tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, let's think about it today!