Mona Loser – the new musical from the team behind Two Strangers – to return for public workshops

Exclusive: The team behind Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) will present the latest public workshops of their new musical, Mona Loser.

Last week, Two Strangers, which has a score by Kit Buchan and Jim Barne and is directed by Tim Jackson, received eight Tony Award nominations.

Mona Loser draws inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and is set in the music industry, exploring viral fame, fakery, and identity. It was first seen at Southwark Playhouse Borough in 2025 and at Birmingham Hippodrome earlier this year.

The workshop performances will offer audiences a chance to see the musical in development, and are supported by Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department. They will take place from 2 to 5 September at Southwark Playhouse Borough.

Two hundred tickets, priced at £15 each, will be available via the show’s lottery, which is free to enter now. One winner each night will also receive a VIP “Monster Package”, which includes two complimentary tickets and two drinks. All £25 tickets will go on sale via the Southwark Playhouse website on 23 June.

Writers Buchan and Barne said: “We’re thrilled to be back at Southwark Playhouse, south London’s beloved shipyard of new musicals, for our third public workshop of Mona Loser. Each time we do this, the audience teaches us something new, and their insights have already been invaluable. We very much hope you can make it; we can’t wait to see what this next chapter brings.”

Mona Loser is produced by Tim Johanson Productions, with Birmingham Hippodrome. Casting is to be announced.