Panellists: 
Sohini Alam (singer, composer & music director; Khiyo, Lokkhi Terra, GRRRL/FLOW)
Greg Cochrane (journalist; The Guardian, BBC, NME, Rolling Stone)
Jack Godfrey (composer, lyricist & writer; Hot Mess, 42 Balloons, Babies)
Phoebe Jasper aka NAVVY (artist, writer & producer; Pete Will Save This House)

Chair: Finlay Carroll (Pollinate)

According to IFPI, in 2023, people spent an average of 20.7 hours listening to music each week. Music provides an emotional window to the world as it stands and how it could be. But how might writing songs contribute to the movement for a just, habitable planet?

This discussion is for audiences and artists who want to understand more about the power and challenges of writing songs about climate change. Speakers will share insights into making music about climate, the wider impact of music in their life, and how they’ve approached storytelling about positive futures through songs. 

Drawing on expertise from the commercial music sector, and including Jack Godfrey, composer of Hot Mess, this panel brings together artists and journalists to explore the challenges of writing music with urgency and ambition.

Panellists: 
Finlay Carroll (producer & founder; Pollinate)
Ellie Coote (director, writer & dramaturg; Hot Mess, 42 Balloons)
Anna Himali Howard (director, theatre maker & dramaturg; The Secret Garden, Orpheus)
Luke Howarth (director & writer; Relish Theatre)

Chair: Meg McGrady 

Plays and musicals have always explored society’s biggest challenges. From its earliest forms, theatre has grappled with complex issues, including audiences in conversations about the past, present and future.

As public demand grows for a cultural response to climate change, theatre artists are grappling with how to translate such a vast and urgent subject to the stage. If we cannot tell theatrical stories about climate action, how can we build the lasting engagement needed for societal shifts?

This panel brings together theatre makers who are exploring climate and nature themes in their own artistic practice. Audiences will gain insights into live conversations happening in rehearsal rooms, discovering a generation of artists and their challenges applying climate themes to different forms of theatre.

To be eligible for the workshop, you must be a Hot Mess ticket holder. Please register with the name on your ticket order confirmation on EventBrite. Limited availability.

Doors open 3.35pm
Event runs 4.00 – 5.00pm

The workshop will take place at The Other Palace Studio.

What would happen if humanity viewed its relationship with Earth as one of care, partnership, or even love?

Inspired by the question at the heart of Hot Mess, this creative workshop invites participants to explore their feelings about nature and climate through songwriting. Led by Hot Mess writers Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, alongside Pollinate – a new organisation making musicals that move people to climate action.

The session begins with performances of two previously unheard songs from Hot Mess’s development, performed by Mia Quimpo (covering the role of Earth) and Nathan Shaw (covering the role of Humanity).

Participants will then take part in a guided songwriting session, using memories of the natural world as inspiration for creating lyric ideas. No songwriting experience is needed.

Panellists: 
Chisara Agor (award-winning composer and multidisciplinary artist; The Garden, We Are The New Hope)
Kalpana Arias (technologist & urban greening activist; Nowadays On Earth, nature rights campaigning, tech for good)
Lois Clark (conservationist, science communicator & researcher; habitat restoration, science participation)
Tom Pakenham (environmental entrepreneur & investor; e-mobility, smart energy, sustainable business)

Chair: Finlay Carroll 

In June 2026, an international report outlined the alternative to climate breakdown, political extremism and economic tensions. Academics stated that ‘an equal and habitable world is possible’ in a sweeping vision for planetary survival. Across the UK, people are working to realise this vision through the creation of new coalitions, organisations and initiatives, sometimes under the radar.

In this panel, we’ll explore the challenges and opportunities ahead with climate and nature recovery leaders with expertise in renewable energy, rewilding, conservation, and organising for climate justice. This is for anybody who wants to learn how they can contribute to the creation of just and thriving futures on their doorstep.