WHY AM I SO SINGLE? will end its limited season at London’s Garrick Theatre, with its final performance on 19th January 2025.
The producers have said, We are extremely proud of the production and thank all the cast, musicians, creatives, and backstage team who have worked together to bring something daring and original to the West End. We are not discounting the possibility of bringing the show back into London in the future and, with discussions about potential productions in the US and around the world already underway, we are confident that it is just the beginning for this extraordinary show.
Why Am I So Single? A Big Fancy Musical at Garrick Theatre ★★★★
Six the Musical, written by Cambridge University students, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 before settling in the 700 seat Vaudeville Theatre, where it continues to sellout night after night, in London, on tour, on Broadway and across the rest of the world.
Their follow up musical ‘How To Be Single’ now open at the Garrick Theatre, will see if this musical writing duo are a one trick pony, or two of the UK’s most promising musical writers.
Why Am I So Single? is the story of two students, who write a musical that unexpectedly changes the world (yes, it’s based on their own actual lives). But after that all dies down and it is time to write something new, they realise that first they need to delve deep into their friendship and dissect their chaotic love lives. It is a story that leaves the tired old ‘gay best friend’ trope behind and explores a modern day friendship.
In a world where you think you’ve seen it all before, this show is jaw droppingly original, with actors playing set pieces. Rubbish bins, curtains, fridges and blankets, that come to life, like a magical cartoon. This directorial choice is genius. A fridge that you open and it hands you the bottle, a dustbin that reaches up and takes it from you and… curtains! Two people dressed the same, both with bleach blonde shaved heads. Showing that if you take away the visual aesthetics that make us appear different, you realise we are all the same. Male, Female, Trans, Non binary – we are all just curtains.
Jo Foster (Oliver) is hands down the best performance in this show. This role feels like it was written for them. They are hilarious, breaking the fourth wall with a casual wink and delivering powerhouse vocals. Leesa Tulley works well alongside Jo (as Nancy), balancing out the energy in the duo and calming things down when needed and then delivering soaring vocals at just the right time for her to shine. Noah Thomas (Artie) is brilliant. At first seeming to have a fairly small role that then grows as the show goes on.
Exploring different musical styles, Marlow and Moss showcase that they can write any genre of music – and do it well. The recently released song ‘8 Dates’ which has been viral on social media, makes an early appearance in the show and kicks things off as they mean to go on. Act 1 peaks with the brilliant ‘Meet Market’ – a supermarket shop for … well dates and Act 2 has the brilliantly camp ‘Disco Ball’ and ‘Men R Trash’ which is really where it should really wrap up. The show is too long and loses its way towards the end with act one being much stronger but on the whole it works well.
What the writers have managed to achieve here, is a Taylor Swift like status, where by whatever they do next will turn to gold. They have proved that they deserve to be where they are and that they can create hits. But now, by using themselves as the central characters, they are creating a stronger fan base for themselves, not just as writers, but as people. This show may not be around for years to come and maybe it’s not meant to be. Maybe its their way of telling everyone to stop expecting Six Part 2 and let them create on their own. I can’t wait to see what they do next.
West End Wilma
Accessible Performances
Captioned: Friday 10 January 2025, 7.30pm
