Why Am I So Single? musical: Creators of Six on their new show

For actor Jo Foster, it’s a role they never thought they’d get.

Jo’s the lead in a new West End show, playing a character who like them, is non-binary.

“Not to get all soppy, but it’s just something I never thought I would have”, says Jo, who previously starred in the musical & Juliet and uses they/them pronouns.

They say while non-binary roles have appeared in shows in the past, they were usually as part of an ensemble and not in the spotlight.

Jo feels they’re helping to make that leap, and on a particularly big stage too.

They’re headlining the first all-new production from the creators of the hit musical Six, a show that from humble beginnings at Edinburgh’s Fringe, has gone on to take over the world, with UK, US and Australian tours.

Six is a modern retelling of the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives, a comedy set around a singing competition.

Songs from that show have been streamed hundreds of millions of times, and dedicated fans now call themselves the Queendom.

So it’s fair to say there are high expectations for the team’s new show, called Why Am I So Single?

Jo says it will be a chance to bring queer and non-binary stories to new audiences when it opens later this month.

“It’s about allowing people to come in and see that we’re all the same. We’re all equal”.

Co-star and Six alum Leesa Tulley agrees: “We have all gender and sexual identities. We have everything. And it’s so important because that’s life, that’s normal. Old musicals don’t always reflect that”.

Jo adds: “It’s new perspectives, it’s new ideas, it’s new… everything.”