New musical Hot Mess by Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote has won this year’s Popcorn Writing Award 2025.
Run by film and theatre production company Popcorn Group, the annual awards celebrate bold, imaginative new writing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, offering a £6,000 prize fund, and career development support from both the Popcorn Group and BBC Writers.
The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Pleasance Courtyard in Edinburgh today, 20 August 2025, with the awards presented by Miriam Margolyes.
Hot Mess is a sharp, satirical musical that uses the language of pop, comedy, and romance to tackle urgent questions about our relationship with the planet. Balancing wit and poignancy, it reframes the climate crisis as a story of love, betrayal, and resilience, capturing the Fringe spirit of confronting serious issues with originality and flair.
The production stars Danielle Steers (SIX The Musical, The Cher Show) and Tobias Turley (Mamma Mia!), and is currently playing at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard until 25 August.
The show is then transferring to Southwark Playhouse Elephant in London from 16 October to 8 November 2025.
The writers of the show, Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, are the creative duo behind hit musical 42 Balloons.
Hot Mess has scored some impressive reviews in Edinburgh, getting five stars from the Guardian, Stage, What’s On Stage and Theatre Weekly.
The show is the first production to transfer to London from Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department.
Second and third place winners
The second place prize was awarded to Ed Edwards for their show Ordinary Decent Criminal, a gripping and darkly funny exploration of survival, morality, and justice.
The third place prize was awarded to Abigail and Shaun Bengson for the show Ohio: The Bengsons, a powerful, life-affirming music-led journey that confronts the realities of grief and mortality with candour, humour, and heart.
Ohio is transferring to London’s Young Vic next month, running from 30 September to 24 October 2025.
A special mention was given to Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working by Sadie Pearson.
The shortlist for the awards was announced on 6 August, and also included Body Count by Issy Knowles; Bog Body by Jen Tucker; Brainsluts by Dan Bishop; Cara and Kelly Are Best Friends Forever by Mojola Akinyemi; Consumed by Karis Kelly; Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Conor Murray and Hannah Power; Fuselage by Annie Lareau; HOLE! by Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper; I Dream in Colour by Jasmine Thien; In the Black by Quaz Degraft; In the Land of Eagles by Alexandra Reynolds; JACKIE!!! A New Musical by Max Alexander-Taylor, Nancy Edwards and Joe McNeice; KING by Jo Tan; LEI – LDN by Na-keisha Pebody; Lovett by Lucy Roslyn; MILES. by Oliver Kaderbhai; PEOPLE WE BURY ALIVE by Anna Krauze; r/Conspiracy by Ella Hällgren; Refuse by Lucy McIlgorm; Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak by Victoria Melody; Wanted by Eleanor Higgins; and Woman in the Arena by Jen DiGiacomo.
What They Said
Hot Mess writers Ellie Coote and Jack Godrey said in a statement: “We’re so thrilled to receive the 2025 Popcorn Award. It’s a huge honour to have been nominated alongside so many amazing writers at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. It’s taken five years, two titles, four versions, and several break ups to write Hot Mess. We couldn’t have done it without the unwavering support of Vicky Graham and Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department, led by Deirdre O’Halloran, who is also our genius dramaturg. A musical about the climate crisis is not necessarily an easy sell and we’re so grateful to have the platform to be a part of the conversation in our own silly little way.”
Popcorn Writing Award committee member, Screenwriter and Producer Sophie Petzal, said Hot Mess is “An original, distinctive concept with witty lyrics and brilliantly clever one-liners… a bold and astute comment on the way we handle this earth.”
Popcorn Writing Award Founder, Filmmaker and Artist Charlotte Colbert, said: “The Fringe is the perfect grassroots wonderland which births unique and original voices which we so need in these times.”
More about the Popcorn Writing Award
Established in 2019 by the Popcorn Group, the Popcorn Award champions fearless writing that “playfully and artistically tackles current affairs, questions societal norms, and contributes positively to public debate.”
The committee judging this year’s awards included filmmaker and artist Charlotte Colbert, visual artist Chris Levine, producer Josie Ho, writers Adam Kay, Sophie Petzal and Daragh Carville, actor Susan Wokoma, and actor–musician Alison Sudol, alongside the team at Popcorn Group and in consultation with BBC Writers.
Submissions for this year’s award were opened in June. To be eligible, plays must be new writing with fewer than seven preview performances prior to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe and must be staged at one of the award’s partner venues, which this year are: Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Summerhall Arts, theSpaceUK, Traverse, Underbelly, Greenside, ZOO Venues and Paradise Green.
As part of the award, all shortlisted writers are offered valuable mentorship meetings with the Popcorn Group. In addition, those based in the UK and Ireland will be eligible for a one-to-one meeting with the BBC Writers team. Eligible longlisted writers from the UK and Ireland will also be invited to submit their scripts for consideration as part of BBC Writers Voices 2026.
Previous Popcorn winners
The 2024 Popcorn Writing Award was jointly awarded to VL by Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair, and Weather Girl by Brian Watkins – the latter recently concluded a successful transfer run at Soho Theatre and is currently being adapted for TV.
Other previous winners of the award include Bryony Kimmings, Karim Khan, and Sabrina Ali, whose 2023-winning play Dugsi Dayz secured a transfer at the Royal Court as part of David Byrne’s inaugural season as Artistic Director.
Also see: Edinburgh 2025: The Best of the Best – Top Theatre Shows at the Fringe & International Festival
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