The hotly-anticipated new musical from the writers of smash-hit musical Six (2017) is quite a departure from the wives of Henry VIII. Producer Kenny Wax (MBE), who discovered Six at the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe and turned it into an award-winning West End and Broadway juggernaut, has been pressuring writers Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss to create another smash hit musical. And so, with nothing else to write about, Marlow and Moss decide to put themselves on stage as the two lead characters, and write a meta-musical about Kenny Wax pressuring them to create a new West End show. Unlike the writers’ ambitious vision for Six, this new musical is self-indulgent, and maybe even puerile; but it’s fast and funny, and the standing-ovation audience eat it up.

Six‘s success is due in part to Marlow & Moss’ kick-ass, catchy pop tunes and clever lyrics, and audiences will find more of the same here. Most are sung by the actors playing the struggling writing pair, non-binary boy-chaser Toby Marlow (Jo Foster), and grief-avoidant over-sharer Lucy Moss (Leesa Tulley). Calling themselves “Oliver” and “Nancy” (after the Lionel Bart musical), they sit in Oliver’s flat, drink Prosecco, and try to work out why they are both so single. At each new bend in the conversation, a flashback or musical vignette breaks out. In many ways, it’s like a new, queer-centric revamp of Stephen Sondheim’s Company (1970), but this time we’re complaining about transactional dating apps and getting ghosted online. At nearly three hours in length, the lead couple barely leave the stage: their vocals, comic timing, and general panache lift the material beyond the mere generic or camp — it’s an amazing double-act.

But the ensemble barely leave the stage either. Co-directed by Lucy Moss and choreographer Ellen Kane, their background dancing is unbelievably high-octane, and often explicitly sexual. It’s a bit like they’ve just thrown everything at the wall, hoping something sticks. But you can’t fault the entire young cast’s abundant energy and skill.

The musical’s tagline is “A Big, Fancy Musical”, something the lead couple continually allude to throughout the story, but the actual musical on-stage is in fact neither big nor fancy. Essentially a domestic two-hander with an added ensemble, there’s basically no set (Moi Tran) beyond the wheel-on wheel-off sofa. It’s hard to tell if this represents a failed ambition, or a deliberate choice. Either way, a home crowd of Marlow and Moss fans have probably already bought their tickets, and Kenny Wax must be thrilled with his new golden egg from musical theatre’s golden geese.

Playing at the Garrick Theatre, 27 August 2024 – 13 February 2025.