Everything you need to know about 'Why Am I So Single?' in the West End

The hotly anticipated new show about modern dating by SIX writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss arrives at the Garrick Theatre in the West End this August.

SIX fans rejoice! Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’s sophomore musical Why Am I So Single? starts previews in August, opening in September. While the pop-infused SIX revolutionised the historical musical with its diva-inspired girl group take on the six wives of Henry VIII, this new show is set in the present day and deals with a force even more fearsome and cut-throat than the aforementioned murderous monarch… modern-day dating.

The story deals with two terminally single friends who happen to be musical theatre composers. Unable to settle upon more worthy subject matter, they create a musical about their own chequered love lives (if in doubt, draw from life!).

The musical promises to have all the heart, hilarity, and hot tunes of SIX. It’s a sought-after ticket for the end of summer and into autumn, and who knows for how long to come!

Find out more about this new musical with our guide and book Why Am I So Single? tickets on London Theatre.

What is Why Am I So Single? about?

Why Am I So Single? is an original musical in which “the lonely little lives of two BFFs are transformed into an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza about dates, mates, and celebrating love in all its forms.”

Dating in the modern age isn’t easy and this life-affirming show is the perfect reminder that you’re not alone if you’re in that particular boat. At its heart, however, is the platonic love story between two best friends and their unconditional love and support for one another. Can they be each other’s soulmates?

Has Why Am I So Single? been performed before?

This is the show’s world premiere but extracts of the show have previously been performed in public. In 2023, Marlow and Moss held a public workshop at Sadler’s Wells’ Lilian Baylis Theatre and invited the audience’s feedback. The duo first started working on the show five years ago on a writers’ retreat in Connecticut.

Who are the writers of Why Am I So Single?

Why Am I So Single? is written by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the talent behind mega-hit SIX. Both born in 1994, Marlow and Moss met as students at Cambridge University, where they were both active on the drama scene. SIX was first presented by the Cambridge University Theatre Society at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in summer 2017. The show received its first professional production at London’s Arts Theatre for six Monday night performances in December 2017, prior to a tour.

The full West End run kicked off at the Arts Theatre in January 2019, where it played until the Covid-19 pandemic. When the theatres reopened, the musical transferred to the Lyric Theatre, and then moved a second time to the Vaudeville Theatre, where it continues to play. The show was nominated for five Olivier Awards.

The Broadway production opened in February 2020 but was curtailed by the Covid-19 pandemic. When the show was able to reopen, it won Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Costumes (by Gabriella Slade). The show continues to tour the UK and the US.

In 2022, Marlow and Moss were included in Time magazine’s prestigious Time 100 Next list.

When can I see Why Am I So Single?

The first preview of Why Am I So Single? takes place on 27 August 2024 and the show is currently booking until 13 February 2025. The show plays from Tuesdays-Sundays at 7:30pm, with matinee performances at 2:30pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Where is Why Am I So Single? playing?

Why Am I So Single? Is playing at the Garrick Theatre on Charing Cross Road, in the West End. The 1889 theatre has a capacity of 732 seats and recent productions include Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel Hamnet and the musical version of Bonnie & Clyde. The Garrick is currently home to the stage adaptation of Alan Bleasdale’s seminal 1980s BBC series Boys from the Blackstuff.

Who is Why Am I So Single? aimed at?

The show is aimed at audience members aged 14+.

How long is Why Am I So Single?

The running time of Why Am I So Single? is 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one interval.

Who is in the cast of Why Am I So Single?

The (nameless) lead roles are played by rising stars Jo Foster and Leesa Tulley. Foster most recently appeared in Live Aid musical Just for One Day at the Old Vic and other credits include & Juliet, Legally Blonde (directed by Lucy Moss), and Hex.

Tulley performed as an alternate in the 2022-23 UK tour of SIX. She made headlines earlier this year when she was called away from her shift at the Theatre Café Diner to perform as an emergency cover for Katherine Howard with less than an hour’s notice.

Jordan Cambridge-Taylor (Schwartz at 75) and Collette Guitart (Just for One Day) are the alternate leads.

Noah Thomas (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) plays the pair’s mutual friend. The ensemble includes Jemima Brown, Josh Butler, Natasha Leaver, Ran Marner, Jamel Matthias, Olivia O’Connor Joshian Angelo Omaña, Natasha Wilde, and Rhys Wilkinson. The swings are Callum Bell, Owen McHugh, Caitlin Redpath, and Ebony Clarke (also dance captain).

Who is in the creative team of Why Am I So Single?

Why Am I So Single? is directed by co-writer Lucy Moss. The show is choreographed by Ellen Kane (A Chorus Line,* Matilda* film). Musical supervision is by Joe Beighton (42 Balloons, Babies); set design by Moi Tran (The Homecoming); costume design by Max Johns (Choir Boy); lighting by Jai Morjaria (The Buddha of Suburbia); and sound by Paul Gatehouse (The Little Big Things).

What songs are in Why Am I So Single?

The score has yet to be heard in full. In an interview with London Theatre, Moss discussed the eclectic influences: “We have a 1930s jazz number, an early Noughties Pussycat Dolls club banger, a disco number, and there’s pastiches from other musicals.” We can’t wait to hear it!

Fun facts about Why Am I So Single?

• At 26, Lucy Moss was the youngest woman to direct a musical on Broadway (with Jamie Armitage) and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.
• Productions of SIX have also been staged in Canada, South Korea, Hungary, and Poland.
• SIX was the first new musical to open on Broadway after the pandemic.
• Queer representation and gender diversity is key to Marlow and Moss’s work. Jo Foster is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

Book Why Am I So Single? tickets on London Theatre.