★★★★★
Realistically, it was only a matter of time. With West End musical storylines running the gamut from the French Revolution to aspiring teenage drag queens, you can see why the world of modern dating would eventually make the cut. In 2024, single life is pitted with tropes that are endlessly ripe for parody—from identical dating profiles all mentioning a love of “travel” and “fun,” first dates where you’re treated to endless information about your date’s ex that you didn’t ask for, to the notorious act of ghosting, by this point a seasoned art-form. Evidently, there’s enough material there to pack out two hours onstage, and who better than the team behind global hit musical Six to do it? If anyone knows about a complicated dating life having set the lives of Henry VIII’s wives to music, it’s them.
The brainchild of best friends Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, Why Am I So Single? tells the story of two best friends—writers Nancy and Oliver (the Oliver! references come thick and fast here). Following a string of disastrous dates, our heroes convene in their flat to watch copious Friends episodes and bemoan the state of modern dating, whilst casually scribbling out a musical to pitch to their agent Fay Gin (told you). In the most metafictional show you’ll see in the West End all year, a litany of songs follow devoted to the pitfalls of your current love life and beyond.
The musical numbers are centred around refreshingly contemporary topics, like ‘C U Never’ where the pair’s happily coupled friend details the best answer to a ghosting—“literally, bye!”—through the medium of tap dance. ‘Meet Market’ lays into the swipe-happy world of Tinder and Hinge, ‘I Got Off The Plane’ sees a troupe of identically-clad Ross and Rachels defending the legacy of the finale, and ‘Interlude in B Minor,’ whose very literal title gives nothing away and isn’t about what you might expect at all.
There’s something admirable about seeing such ordinary themes play out in a large-scale West End show, or that Marlow and Moss have chosen them as worthy of this level of attention. It lets its mainly millennial audience feel acknowledged. Amongst the more buoyant numbers is a balance of added poignancy, with songs like ‘Just in Case’ and the powerfully earnest ‘Disco Ball’ evoking a strong audience reaction. The ensemble are used creatively to West End-ify the show’s modest concept, doubling as restaurant guests, clubgoers, and in one instance, household furniture, and there’s a certain charm in seeing who’s playing what: wallpaper and houseplants bursting into song will always make for an engaging watch. The show is peppered with these crafty creative touches, and it only serves to amplify your enjoyment of the whole thing, the idea that such meticulous creative thought has been put into every moment.
Jo Foster and Leesa Tulley as the leading duo deserve particular plaudits for making this so memorable. The only cast members to appear onstage in every scene, their casting could make or break the show, so it’s just as well they’re both brilliant. Belting out tunes both hilarious and heartfelt gives the show so much depth. While the creators should be commended for presenting the relationship between a woman and a queer person that doesn’t descend into tired tropes, the show should also be praised for celebrating platonic friendship over romance at its core (still a supreme rarity, onstage or otherwise). The conclusion the two characters ultimately reach is that the platonic love they share counts just as much as a romantic equivalent, and that’s always something worth highlighting. As the lyrics in the final number denote, perhaps they aren’t so single after all.
With memorable music and pitch-perfect casting, Why Am I So Single? Is a joyous extravaganza of a show. My one criticism would be that the subject matter’s target demographic is particularly stark: this is a show built for millennials and Gen Z, and whether songs about ghosting will resonate quite so astutely with older audiences, or even non-single people, remains to be seen. That said, it’s hard to imagine an audience having more fun than this. The deafening applause and standing ovation of the attendees spoke volumes.
Why Am I So Single? will be performed at the Garrick Theatre until 13 February.
Words by James Morton
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