Hot Mess Announced as Winner of the Popcorn Writing Award 2025

Satirical musical Hot Messby Ellie Coote and Jack Godfrey has been announced as the winner of  the 2025 Popcorn Writing Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Selected by a committee of  cultural figures including artist Chris Levine, actor Susie Wokoma and singer Alison Sudel from  over 200 submissions, the winning writers will receive a cash prize, as well as career  development support from both the Popcorn Group and BBC Writers. In addition, all shortlisted  playwrights will benefit from one-to-one development sessions with industry professionals,  ensuring that every finalist has the opportunity to build on their Fringe success.

Book Writer & Director Ellie Coote and Composer & Lyricist Jack Godrey from Hot Messcomment, 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 

This year’s committee brought together 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.

The award was presented to the top three writing teams at a ceremony hosted by legendary  comedian Miriam Margolyes at the Pleasance Courtyard this morning.

Winning play 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.

Speaking on HotMess, Popcorn Writing Award committee member, Screenwriter and Producer  Sophie Petzal shares, An original, distinctive concept with witty lyrics and brilliantly clever one liners… a bold and astute comment on the way we handle this earth. 

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. Blurring the line between  personal experience and social commentary, the play interrogates how systems of power and  inequality shape the choices people make when the odds are stacked against them.

And third 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. Blending intimate storytelling with soaring song, it transforms  themes of loss into a celebration of resilience and the human capacity for joy, even in the face  of profound sorrow.

A special mention was given to Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Workingby Sadie Pearson.

Popcorn Writing Award Founder, Filmmaker and Artist Charlotte Colbert, comments, The Fringe  is the perfect grassroots wonderland which births unique and original voices which we so need in  these times. 

Since its founding, the Popcorn Writing Award has become a launchpad for some of the most exciting new voices in theatre. Past winners and finalists have gone on to secure West End and international transfers, develop television adaptations, and be recognised by a multitude of prestigious awards panels. All shortlisted writers receive one-to-one meetings with  both Popcorn Group and BBC Writers. UK and Irish longlistees are invited to submit work to the  BBC Writers portal for consideration in BBC Writers Voices 2026.

Recent winners include VLby Kieran Hurley & Gary McNair and Weather Girlby Brian Watkins  (2024), Dugsi Dayzby Sabrina Ali (2023), and Brown Boys Swimby Karim Khan (2022).

The award is presented in partnership with 10 leading Fringe venues: Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Summerhall, theSpaceUK, Traverse, Underbelly, Greenside, Paradise Green and ZOO Venues.

A committee of diverse industry voices was assembled by the Popcorn Group in consultation with BBC Writers to select the winners and finalists. Bringing together an extraordinary group of artists, actors, writers, and cultural visionaries, the 2025 Popcorn Writing Award committee reflects the reach and cross-disciplinary energy of contemporary storytelling. From BAFTA-winning authors to internationally renowned performers, each juror brings a unique perspective to the task of recognising voices that will shape the future of theatre.

The committee includes multi-award winning Filmmaker, Artist and Founder of the Popcorn  Writing Award Charlotte Colbert (Leave to Remain, She Will); pioneering Contemporary Artist  Chris Levine (Lightness of Being); Actress, Producer and Singer-Songwriter Josie Ho (Contagion,  Exiled); BAFTA-winning Author, Comedian and former Doctor Adam Kay (This Is Going to Hurt)  and Screenwriter and Producer Sophie Petzal (Blood, Hollington Drive). They are joined by  Writer, Actress and Director Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes, Chewing Gum); Playwright and  Screenwriter Daragh Carvill (The Bay) and Actor, Singer-Songwriter and Environmental Activist  Alison Sudol (Fantastic Beasts).

Main Image: Jack Godfrey & Ellie Coote PopcornAward_winner (Alex Brenner)

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