Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre department have today (Tuesday 1 Apr) announced their Edinburgh Fringe debut with original climate crisis musical, Hot Mess. The new production will arrive at the Fringe this summer for its world premiere.  

This high-energy original romcom musical reimagines the climate crisis as a story of love, hope and the ultimate break-up.

Created by the award-winning creative duo behind 42 Balloons, the pop comedy musical takes us to the heart of the tempestuous relationship between Earth and Humanity.

After a billion years of bad dates, Earth’s finally found the one… Humanity. Sparks fly. Wheat is harvested. Technology flourishes. But what begins as a passionate love affair between the universe’s most iconic couple quickly descends into a Hot Mess.

Hot Mess is the first Edinburgh Festival Fringe production from the UK’s only in-house New Musical Theatre Department at Birmingham Hippodrome. The new musical is presented in association with Vicky Graham Productions.

Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote said of Hot Mess: “We are so thrilled that our musical Hot Mess will be making its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer!

“The climate crisis is such an overwhelming issue, and talking about it can often feel really paralysing. We wanted to create a musical that reminds us of the urgency of this issue, but in a way that is also entertaining, relatable, and sometimes ridiculous. 

“Hot Mess is really a romcom about Earth and Humanity – an unlikely romance between an entire species, and an entire planet – who have spent 200,000 years just trying to make their relationship work. We hope audiences will fall in love with these characters, and want to root for them, even in their darkest moments.

“We’re so excited to share Hot Mess with Fringe audiences, and we can’t wait to bring this original new musical to Edinburgh very soon!”

Deirdre O’Halloran, Head of New Musical Theatre at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “We are so excited to mark Birmingham Hippodrome’s Edinburgh Fringe debut with Hot Mess. Hot Mess was the first show that we workshopped in the New Musical Theatre Department, and we cannot wait to introduce it to audiences at the world’s biggest arts festival. The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time and the way that Jack and Ellie bring humour, lightness and banging tunes to the topic will open up brilliant conversations in the Pleasance Courtyard.”

Hot Mess is at Pleasance Two from Wednesday 30 July – Monday 25 August 2025, excluding Wednesday 6th, Monday 11th and Monday 18th August. Tickets are now on sale at pleasance.co.uk.