WHY AM I SO SINGLE? at the Garrick Theatre

★★★★

“an incredibly fun, comedic and beautifully heart-warming show that everyone can enjoy”

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s ‘Why am I So Single?’ debuts in the West End, following the writers’ extremely successful ‘Six’. This new musical cleverly follows a meta portrayal of the pair exploring the issues of their love life and by proxy their own personal issues. The two best friends – under the pseudonyms ‘Nancy’ and ‘Oliver’ – sit in Oliver’s flat after being given the task of writing their next big fancy musical, and after various discussions of their failed dates decide that’s what the musical should be about. Through the medium of many a big fancy musical number, the conclusion of their failed love lives is far more heart-warming than one would expect.

The show opens with its meta framing of the narrative, with the writers talking to us directly through the characters. They state that all stories in the show are based on true events but with all people given different names. Set designer Moi Tran and costume designer Max Johns deserve so much credit for the way the stage moves from having literal set pieces and then ensemble actors seemingly transition to replace them. This was extremely enjoyable to watch and added a lot of fantastic comedic elements – my favourite being whenever the leads interacted with the human rubbish bin. The whole design of the show makes you feel like you’re at a party throughout – with the lighting (Jai Morjaria) primarily being a mix of pink and purple washes that change in time with the music.

The performances throughout the show are stellar and every single cast member is extremely committed. The ensemble shine throughout in both their musical and comedic performances. A mention has to go to Noah Thomas who plays Artie – an extremely strong performance that showed care and empathy for the leads while also telling them the truth when they need to hear it. One of his numbers is also a fantastic tap routine and a great tap routine is always a pleasure to watch. But, of course, the stars of the show are Jo Foster as Oliver and Leesa Tulley as Nancy. Both are incredibly powerful artists and were a pleasure to watch on stage. Foster particularly shines in the number ‘Disco Ball’, where they really are giving the audience everything and it’s such a privilege to be able to see such beautiful vulnerability on stage. Tulley’s performance also shows off her incredible vocal range and talent, and her solo ‘Lost’ brought many people in the audience to tears.

One of my favourite numbers was ‘Meet Market’ – not only a great song with fantastic routines on stage, but also great commentary on the dehumanising nature of dating apps. There were some songs that I felt weren’t necessary and took focus away from the main plotline. The main one I took issue with was a song about a bee, which seemingly is only in the show for the sake of one word play based joke. Unfortunate because two and a half hours already feels quite long for this show, so when the number played at the end of Act 1, I did begin to get quite restless.

‘Why am I So Single?’ is an incredibly fun, comedic and beautifully heart-warming show that everyone can enjoy. Musical theatre millennial fans will particularly enjoy the many show references and referrals to Friends. And with the West End musical scene sticking with its theme of even more movie musicals, it’s great to see something new and fresh bringing heart and soul into the theatre.