Written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
Directed by Lucy Moss
Review by Annie Aslett
For Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, creators of the veritable musical phenomenon Six, the difficult second musical fear was intense. Why Am I So Single? is the sophomore offering from the writing pair, a self-aware show about two best friends tasked with writing “a big fancy musical“. This self-consciousness pervades every minute, with main characters “Oliver” and “Nancy” regularly breaking the fourth wall to fill the audience in or acknowledge flaws. It’s meta, but it works. Fuelled by two phenomenal leads, unconventional staging, a dynamite ensemble cast and Six-worthy songs, Why Am I So Single? is ready to light up the West End.
Oliver and Nancy are unrelentingly single best friends, lamenting their failing love lives over a glass of Prosecco at Oliver’s flat. Plot-wise, that’s the show. Evoking the concert-style nature of Six, Marlow and Moss have written witty and exposing songs about modern dating and drafted a show around them. The narrative of Why Am I So Single? is more cohesive than its predecessor; we fall in love with Oliver and Nancy and their relationship over the course of the show, culminating in a moving if slightly bloated final scene that reminds us of the importance of platonic love.
The vibe of the show might induce some eye-rolling if you’re not the target demographic – to concisely describe the show and attract its target audience is to tell you that there’s a brilliant send-up of nauseatingly generic Tinder profiles and a song called ‘Men are Trash‘ – but the show itself, in part thanks to the fourth wall breaking, never feels cliché or insubstantial. Marlow and Moss have found a delicate balance in their dazzlingly funny yet poignant script; painfully relatable to young daters-of-men yet thoughtful enough to engage all audiences in Oliver and Nancy’s stories. In amongst its lamentations on cancelled dates and ghosting, the show also covers themes of grief, gender identity and loneliness. For all its important messages, the show is true to its fun-loving marketing – for every gut punch of emotion, we’re never more than a few seconds away from a tongue-in-cheek one-liner that has the audience in stitches.
Delivering these whip cracks of wit are Jo Foster as Oliver and Leesa Tulley as Nancy. Both are confident and perfectly cast in these multi-faceted roles, which demand blistering stage presence and vocals, as well as down-to-earth charm to sell the well-constructed script, often directly to the audience. Foster is a dream as Oliver, endlessly watchable through every musical genre and emotional note that this show throws at them. Their performance of Disco Ball, a metaphor for their fear of rejection as a non-binary person in the form of a diva-worthy pop anthem, sees Foster flit between pain, mania and star power. The resulting roar from the crowd is a testament to Foster’s talent and passion.
Tulley is charisma personified as Nancy; her Scottish brogue adds an extra layer of charm to the glint in her eye as she teases Oliver and fights to overcome feelings for The Ex. Nancy is a vocal role not for the faint of heart and Tulley is astonishing in her control; her rendition of heart-breaking ballad Just In Case is a spectacle of emotional depth and vocal acrobatics.
The only other named character is brutally honest relationship-haver Artie, played to scathing perfection by Noah Thomas. The rest of the substantial ensemble cast play various background roles – most memorably playing silent yet somehow gloriously cheeky items of furniture around the flat. This marriage of stage design (Moi Tran), costume design (Max Johns) and choreography (Ellen Kane) is no Beauty and the Beast rip-off; the result is as unique as it is utterly charming.
Why Am I So Single? is a triumphant return from Marlow and Moss. Here’s to more brave original musicals that speak to a younger generation and relationships beyond boy-meets-girl.
Brave Original Musical
Why Am I So Single? Runs at Garrick Theatre, London, until 13th February 2025.
Photo credit – Danny Kaan
Review by Annie Aslett (contact@corrblimey.uk)
Annie is a not-so-recent graduate of the University of Edinburgh with a degree in French and Spanish, along with a Masters in Translation from the University of Glasgow. A Spanish teacher for three years, she decided to leave the classroom behind to pursue personal goals and has since been regularly reviewing for Corr Blimey’s Glaswegian wing. Annie is a life-long lover of musical theatre, whose childhood performances included a rousing production of Snow White in The Hall and a heartfelt rendition of Go, Go, Go Joseph in The Living Room.
