This brand-new show is taking the internet by storm with its relatable content and banging songs
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGES BY DANNY KAAN
It’s the question all perpetually unattached people want the answer to: why are we so single? In a world of dating apps, where the revolving door of matches seems never-ending, why can’t we get a date? This new musical seeks to answer that question through a series of hilarious and heartwarming songs that will make you cry – thankfully, not about how single we are.
The show is brought to theatres by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the genius duo behind Six. It’s a fourth-wall-breaking autobiographical musical in which the two leads, Oliver and Nancy, are thinly veiled avatars for the writers, unpacking why they can’t seem to have a good date. This takes place over the course of one night, in which the singletons sing through their insecurities, dance (literally) around the truth and ultimately learn what being “single” really means.
It’s incredibly clever. While Six introduced this pair as a force to be reckoned with, Why Am I So Single? cements them as a talent to rival Andrew Lloyd Webber. Marlow and Moss know their stuff when it comes to musical theatre and are fabulously geeky about it. Theatre puns litter the script, while each song would be considered the show-stopping aria in any other musical.
But there is a small issue with the first half. The first act is cramp-inducingly funny, almost worryingly so, as the humour interrupts any moment of true vulnerability. By including so many jokes, there’s a fear that the writers will never let themselves be honest beyond a vague self-awareness. On top of that, every song, though amazing individually, is dialled up to ten and there isn’t a chance to breathe.
Fortunately, the second act takes care of all that. The songs vary more in pace and the script finally looks inward enough to find something true. Once the characters start being honest with one another, everything from Act One falls into place. Of course, they chose humour over vulnerability, that’s what we all do! The jokes no longer feel like a barrier; they feel real.
The stand-out performance was from Jo Foster, who plays Oliver. Co-star Leesa Tulley was also terrific, but it wasFoster’s raw discussions of gender identity and queerness that left the audience a puddle of tears. Yes, there are laughs, foot-tapping tunes and (for one scene) giant bee costumes, but it is Foster’s deep and touching depiction of who just wants to be loved for exactly who they are that is truly special. To be frank, the fact that the actor wasn’t also sobbing along with the audience should be the eighth wonder of the world.
To put it simply, this musical is a must-see. It is everything a West End show should be and Marlow and Moss have outdone themselves with this one. The question isn’t “Why am I so single?” but rather “Why on earth haven’t you booked your ticket yet?”
Why Am I So Single is at The Garrick Theatre until 13 February.
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