Casting has been announced for workshop performances of Mona Loser at Birmingham Hippodrome, running in the Patrick Studio from Tuesday 10 to Saturday 14 March.
Produced by Tim Johanson Productions in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, Mona Loser is a contemporary new musical set within the music industry, exploring viral fame, fakery and identity. The show draws inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the modern monsters created both online and offline.
The musical features an original pop score by Kit Buchan and Jim Barne and is directed by Tim Jackson. The workshop marks the second opportunity for audiences to see the work-in-development as it continues its development process. The project is supported by Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department, the UK’s first in-house department dedicated to developing original musical theatre.
The cast includes Abigail Amin (Ink – directed by Danny Boyle), Olivier Award winner Stephen Ashfield (Becoming Nancy, Birmingham Rep), Jeevan Braich (Starlight Express, Troubadour Wembley), Carla Dixon-Hernandez (Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical, West End), Aaron Lee Lambert (Evita, London Palladium) and Nic Myers (Brigadoon, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre).
Further creatives include Joe Beighton as Musical Supervisor and Olivia Laydon for Jill Green Casting as Casting Director.
Due to exceptional demand, a final allocation of tickets has been released for the previously sold-out workshop performances.
Mona Loser runs at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio from 10–14 March. Tickets are available via the Birmingham Hippodrome website.
What’s in Grace’s Satchel?
Now this one has immediately caught Grace’s attention.
A musical about fame, identity, and the internet… inspired by Frankenstein.
You can practically hear the laboratory crackling already.
There’s something quite fitting about a story linking Mary Shelley’s creation with social media celebrity. One monster stitched together from body parts, the other stitched together from algorithms, ring lights and carefully curated personas. Both slightly misunderstood. Both occasionally chased by villagers.
Workshops are funny things in theatre. They’re not quite rehearsals, not quite productions, but somewhere in between. A bit like being allowed into the kitchen of a restaurant before the grand opening. You see the ideas while they’re still warm and slightly experimental, before anyone pretends they were always perfect.
And a pop score as well. Grace suspects at least one song will be dangerously catchy and stuck in her head on the train home, which is a risk she is willing to take in the name of journalistic dedication.
New musicals always feel a little special at this stage. You’re not just watching a show. You’re watching the moment before a show becomes a show.
Grace will be keeping a close eye on this one.
About the Author
