Why Am I So Single? review: Six the Musical creators return with the most fun new show in the West End

Why Am I So Single? review and star rating: ★★★★

“People would say to us, Six is amazing, but when’s the next one coming?” Why Am I So Single? writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss say in a programme note. The new show from the writers of Six, which has one of the most streamed soundtracks in the world, is the stage equivalent of the phenomenon of the difficult second album.

How do you follow the success of the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe hit that has become one of the nation’s most beloved musicals? That show is now so cemented in London theatrical folklore that it’s odd to think it only started in the West End in 2021.

So, have they done it again? A bigger success might have been the actual resurrection of Anne of Cleaves, but short of achieving witchcraft, Marlow and Moss serve us an impressive sophomore delight. Why Am I So Single? is an often hilarious, poignant and relatable rumination on modern dating, with a soundtrack that immediately becomes an ear worm, with subject matter so red-hot it would interest most people, of any age, and in any style of relationship.

Read more: Six The Musical review: Still the best musical in town

Just why are we all so single? Statistics suggest dating apps may be done for good in as few as three years. More people – of all sexualities – are choosing to fly solo, perhaps because fewer of us are having babies. Much of this points to exciting new freedoms, but also this generation right now faces the biggest questions in terms of what future relationships might look like.

I feared this megawatt explosion of youthful singing and dancing would look very pretty but evade tackling these important questions head-on. Why Am I So Single? certainly looks stunning, with hilarious, imaginative detailing like humans playing pieces of wallpaper and fridges full of prosecco, but by song three, 8 Dates, about being cancelled on eight times, it’s clear the show intends to tackle the hardest, most confidence-knocking challenges of dating head-on. (As someone who’s been cancelled on with an hour’s notice multiple times this year, the song felt like a vital piece of catharsis.)

We’re hanging out with Oliver and Nancy in the living room of their share house, their names an homage to their favourite musical, Oliver! (One of many self-knowing musical references the audience pores over.) Songs generally characterise the challenges the duo face when dating, like Meet Market, a comment about the promiscuous nature of queer dating, and Men R Trash, a slight at heteronormativity that isn’t as mean nor as reductive as it sounds. Marlow and Moss know better than that and most of the songs slap.

Structurally, it isn’t a million miles away from Six, with each dating challenge getting its own ecstatic song-and-dance number, much like each of the queens get their moment to shine. Sometimes Oliver and Nancy break the fourth wall and become versions of Marlow and Moss, discussing the challenges of making their big new musical. Sometimes the best ideas are right under your nose, they discover, so rather than create new fiction, why not write about their own dating lives? The playful tone creates a fringey atmosphere that feels intensely personal and intimate, creating huge warmth. Everything feels vulnerable, whether they’re describing the pressure of staging ‘the next Six the Musical’ in the meta parts or describing the feeling of vulnerability that comes with being ghosted.

It isn’t all sparkling: Disco Ball gets the hugest cheers but is also the weakest song, and the final half-hour’s narrative, where the two fall out, feels tropey and conventional. But they’re minor quibbles in an era-defining show that manages to find meaning more through casual interactions than broad narrative strokes. That’s down to the sharp writing that captures the nuances of best friendship.

Why Am I So Single? is often laugh-out-loud funny, in both relatable or outrageous ways. Jo Foster from & Juliet is an absolute force as Oliver, and newcomer Leesa Tulley shows huge promise in her first major role. I want to spend endless evenings on the sofa with Oliver and Nancy.

Dating right now really is changing, and the global perspective on how we spend our lives is shifting. Sure, Why Am I So Single? is a fizzing, popping new musical, but it’s best strength is that is also contributes to the debate about our current romance dilemma, one of the biggest shifts facing humankind.

Why Am I So Single? plays at the Garrick Theatre until 13 February 2025