Does a musical romance with a climate message sound a tad worthy – and one in which the couple represent “Earth” and “Humanity”? In fact, Earth (Danielle Steers) is a Bridget Jones style singleton who is 750m years into looking for love. She is not convinced when Humanity (Tobias Turley) comes along, all earnestness and cute lines (“You are the centre of my universe”) but is slowly won over.
Somehow, Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote’s climate romcom manages not to make a hot mess out of a very bizarre idea. Quite the opposite. It is so well executed that you see the tragedy of Earth’s love affair with Humanity as a toxic relationship in which the latter betrays, manipulates and gaslights, even as you are dazzled by the music, tickled by the humour and taken in by the romance.
It is a two-hander in which both performers blaze. Steers is armed with an out-of-this-world voice and a welter of well-timed one-liners (“I can literally pull anyone, it’s called gravity” and “I’m not picky, I’m naturally selective”). Turley is a formidable singer, too, and manages his character’s trajectory from wet-eared eagerness to workaholism, insecurity, unfaithfulness and denial.
It serves as a metaphor for our abuse of the planet’s resources while making promises to do better, and be greener – tomorrow. But it is delivered without flat-footedness or strain, never breaking out of the storyline of its central romance. You know where it is all heading but it still manages to surprise and delight.
Coote’s book whops out one brilliant line after another. Godfrey’s lyrics keep up while the music is super catchy, whether synth pop, rock, funk or moments of rap. The duo’s Edinburgh fringe show last year, 42 Balloons, was a runaway hit. This cements their extraordinary musical chemistry. Coote, who directs as well, keeps it pacy. Having played a run at the Birmingham Hippodrome earlier this year, the production is slick without being glib.
A fringe highlight which, like the planet, deserves a longer, fuller life.
