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A Slice of Comfort: Why Waitress on Tour Still Feels Like Coming Home
Tuesday, 21 April 2026
Waitress (Tour)
Woking Theatre
Ten years after first opening up, Waitress remains one of the most quietly revolutionary musicals of the modern era. Celebrating its 10th anniversary, the current UK tour (currently playing at Working Theatre before continuing across the country) proves that this show hasn’t simply endured; it has deepened, matured, and somehow become even more nourishing.
Seeing Waitress again feels less like revisiting a hit musical and more like returning to a favourite café where the staff remember your order and the pie is always warm.
Based on the film of the same name, Waitress tells the story of Jenna Hunterson, a gifted pie maker trapped in an unhappy marriage and an unexpected pregnancy. Dreaming of escape, she pours her emotions into baking, crafting pies that become emotional diary entries disguised as desserts.
The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, walks a delicate line between romantic comedy, small-town drama, and personal awakening. Yes, there are questionable ethical choices along the way- particularly Jenna’s complicated relationship with her doctor- but and the show never pretends that decisions are simple or entirely admirable. That moral messiness is part of what makes Waitress resonate. Life isn’t tidy. Healing rarely arrives wrapped in perfect decisions. Beneath the imperfect choices lies a deeply human story about reclaiming agency, rediscovering self-worth, and learning that kindness, especially toward yourself, can be revolutionary. Ultimately, it’s a heartwarming tale. One that earns its emotional payoff honestly.
At the centre of the production is Carrie Hope Fletcher as Jenna, delivering a performance that beautifully balances personality, humour, and raw vulnerability. Jenna lives in contradiction, moving between warmth and emotional detachment and Fletcher leans fully into those complexities. One of the most exciting aspects of Waitress is seeing how different performers interpret Jenna, and Fletcher’s portrayal stands out for the way she approaches Jenna’s pregnancy. Rather than playing immediate maternal sentimentality, her Jenna begins from a place of emotional indifference, even quiet resentment. It’s a bold and refreshingly honest choice that makes the character’s journey feelincredibly impactful. As Jenna slowly reconnects with hope and agency, the emotional shift lands with genuine weight. Fletcher allows us to watch a woman rediscover herself in real time, and the result is deeply moving without ever becoming overly sentimental.
Returning to the role of Dawn, Evelyn Hoskins is sheer delight. Her performance is packed with charm, precision comedy, and heartfelt awkwardness. Dawn’s social anxieties and earnest optimism are played with affectionate detail, never reducing her to caricature. Opposite her, Mark Anderson as Ogie proves comedic gold. Together, the pair achieve impeccable timing; their scenes erupt with laughter while remaining irresistibly sincere. Their relationship becomes one of the musical’s purest sources of joy. Eccentric, wholesome, and utterly lovable.
As Becky, Sandra Marvin delivers powerhouse presence. She grounds the show with warmth, wit, and emotional honesty, bringing both humour and lived experience to the role. Becky’s resilience and no-nonsense compassion shine through every interaction, making her both hilarious and quietly profound.
Dan Partridge captures Dr Pomatter’s sincerity and endearing bumbliness perfectly. His portrayal avoids cliché, instead presenting a man who is awkward, emotionally open, and entirely believable. Crucially, Partridge shares an effortless, natural chemistry with Fletcher’s Jenna. Their scenes feel spontaneous and human, which helps the show navigate its ethically complicated romance with empathy rather than judgement.
On the darker end of Jenna’s world, Mark Willshire gives a chilling performance as Earl. Rather than leaning into overt villainy, Willshire builds the character through unsettling subtleties- small physical movements, twitchy gestures, and shifts in tone that reveal Earl’s manipulative nature. His portrayal captures the reality of emotional abuse with uncomfortable accuracy, making Jenna’s longing for escape all the more urgent.
Meanwhile, Dan O'Brien shines as Cal, bringing surprising depth to a role that could easily become one-note. His gruff exterior slowly gives way to warmth and humour, adding another layer of humanity to the diner’s ecosystem.
The diner trio -Jenna, Becky, and Dawn- provide some of the evening’s most grounding emotional moments. Their camaraderie embodies the show’s wholesome core: women supporting one another not through grand speeches or theatrical declarations, but through everyday loyalty, teasing humour, and shared survival.
There is an ease between Fletcher, Marvin, and Hoskins that makes their friendship feel entirely authentic. You believe these women have worked side by side for years, carrying each other through heartbreaks, bad shifts, and small victories. Their scenes offer comfort as much as comedy, reminding us that sometimes community is the real love story.
Even beyond the central characters, the production excels in its attention to ensemble storytelling. Every secondary role feels thoughtfully realised, from fleeting diner customers to background interactions that quietly enrich the world of the show. No performer feels incidental; each contributes to a town that feels specific, affectionate, and recognisably human.
It’s this collective commitment that makes the touring production so effective. Rather than relying solely on star power, the company builds a living, breathing community; one that audiences are invited into from the moment the lights rise.
Every time I see Waitress, I’m struck anew by how Jenna’s emotional world is physically expressed onstage. Through clever stagecraft, her environment subtly grows larger or smaller depending on who she’s with. Moments of confinement tighten the space around her, while scenes of possibility quite literally open the world up. The attention to detail extends everywhere: the comforting glow of the diner, the tactile realism of the kitchen, and the seamless transitions that keep the story moving like a perfectly timed recipe. The staging never overwhelms the narrative; instead, it quietly mirrors Jenna’s inner life.
Bareilles’ score remains one of contemporary musical theatre’s finest achievements. Songs unfold like conversations rather than showstoppers, allowing audiences to slip into Jenna’s thoughts rather than watch them from afar. Numbers arrive exactly when emotions can no longer stay unspoken.
The 10th anniversary tour reminds us why Waitress became such a beloved phenomenon in the first place. It’s funny without cruelty, romantic without fantasy, hopeful without denying hardship and as sweet as pie in all the best ways.
Yes, the story contains morally complicated relationships. Yes, its characters make imperfect choices. But beneath everything lies a message that continues to resonate: people deserve second chances, especially the chance to choose themselves.
In an era of spectacle-driven musicals, Waitress remains disarmingly sincere. It doesn’t shout for attention; it invites you in, offers you something warm, and leaves you feeling just a little more hopeful than when you arrived.
★★★★
Reviewed on Monday 20th April 2026 by Olivia
Photo Credit: Matt Crockett
{AD PR Invite- tickets gifted in exchange for honest review}
2:22 A Ghost Story Tour Review: A Sensationally Spooky Night
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
2:22 A Ghost Story (Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
I just saw 2:22 A Ghost Story and honestly, WOW! If you like being on the edge of your seat and don't mind jumping out of your skin, you have to see it!
The jump scares are crazy. Every time the digital clock hit a certain point or the fox screamed, the ear-splitting sound made not just me, but the whole audience jump every time, it was a terrifying and slightly hilarious group experience.
This play is not just "creepy"—it’s actually terrifying in some parts. The way the kitchen table moved in the candlelight was my favourite scary part. It was really like a seance was happening on stage and a ghost was in the room. The simplistic staging is incredibly well done, it's such a normal household setting that it makes the ghostly happenings even more realistic and spooky!
I also loved the plot! It’s basically about a woman who thinks her new house is haunted every night at exactly 2:22 AM. Her husband isn't a believer and is quite frankly, really annoying about it. We follow the couple as they host a dinner party and try to find out the cause of the goings on.
As a fan of Danny Robins and the Uncanny podcast I expected good things from this show and I found the way he wrote both sceptic and believer views with facts so clever and engaging. I did see the ending coming… but no spoilers! Overall I thought that it was an amazing story and it was a great twist and I’m still thinking about it. I found it heartbreaking but astonishing.
At this performance James Bye's role was played by his understudy, who did a brilliant job. The only thing that irritated me was the American accent one of the characters was trying to do. It didn’t sound right and was distracting. It felt a little fake compared to everyone else and took me out of the story rather than building the tension between the characters better.
That said it’s a massive rollercoaster and truly one of the best things I’ve seen. Go with someone who won’t mind you grabbing their arm when the lights go out! Thanks, mum!
I would highly recommend it!
★★★★★
Reviewed on Monday 16th March by Freya Myers
Photo Credit:
{AD PR Invite- tickets gifted in exchange for honest review}
Review: Single White Female on tour
Thursday, 5 March 2026
"slightly melodramatic, and occasionally unintentionally comedic"
Single White Female (Tour)
New Victoria Theatre
Just back from seeing Single White Female at Woking — and I have to say, I have mixed feelings.
I was really looking forward to it. I remember the film from years ago and loved the psychological tension, so I was curious to see how it would translate to the stage. The atmosphere was definitely there — the lighting and sound design created some genuinely eerie moments, and you could feel the audience leaning in during the more intense scenes. There were points where the suspense simmered beautifully, and the claustrophobic feel of the set really helped build that sense of unease.
However… I didn’t quite connect with the acting. For me, some of the performances felt a little forced, and it made it harder to fully believe in the friendship-turned-obsession dynamic at the heart of the story. In a psychological drama you really need that chemistry and subtlety, and at times it just didn’t land. A few emotional beats felt rushed, which meant the shift from companionship to fixation didn’t feel as gradual or as unsettling as it could have been. There were moments that should have felt more chilling but came across slightly melodramatic, and occasionally unintentionally comedic, which took me out of the tension rather than drawing me deeper into it.
What did, however, connect with me personally as a mum was the daughter’s role and her reactions to her mother. At times it genuinely triggered me into thinking I was watching my own life and how I try to navigate the joys of social media and the daily drama that comes with teenagers! That thread of the story felt authentic and surprisingly relatable, adding a layer of modern relevance that grounded the more heightened psychological elements.
I do admire the ambition of adapting such a well-known film for the stage- it’s not an easy thing to do, especially when audiences inevitably bring strong memories and expectations with them. Translating that kind of cinematic tension into a live setting is a challenge, and there were clear moments where the production showed real creativity and boldness in trying to make it work.
It wasn’t terrible by any means- just not quite as gripping as I’d hoped. That said, there’s always something special about live theatre and the shared experience of sitting in a room full of people, collectively holding your breath. Even when it doesn’t completely hit the mark, that sense of immediacy and connection is something you simply can’t replicate anywhere else
★★★
Reviewed on Tuesday 3rd March 2026 by Melanie Myers
Photo Credit: Chris Bishop
{AD PR Invite- tickets gifted in exchange for honest review}
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes Review- A Dazzling, Cinematic Ballet Masterpiece
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes Review
A Perfect Balance of Cinematic Spectacle and Theatrical Magic
There are some productions that entertain, and then there are those that completely transport you. Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is firmly the latter. This exquisite ballet is a breathtaking fusion of storytelling, design, and choreography that feels both gloriously cinematic and intimately theatrical. It is a production that understands the power of visual narrative and trusts its audience to meet it halfway.
Inspired by the Powell and Pressburger film and Hans Christian Andersen’s dark fairy tale, The Red Shoes tells the story of Victoria Page, a young dancer torn between love and ambition. Under the watchful eye of the obsessive impresario Boris Lermontov, Victoria rises to stardom, but her heart is divided between her devotion to dance and her love for composer Julian Craster. As ambition, jealousy, and desire collide, the red shoes become a symbol of artistic obsession and sacrifice.
Act one carefully lays the groundwork. Bourne allows the narrative space to breathe, establishing character dynamics and emotional stakes with precision. It feels almost filmic in structure, with seamless transitions and sharply drawn relationships. The storytelling is rich but never heavy handed. Through nuanced physicality and expression, the cast communicates layers of longing, rivalry, and ambition without uttering a single word.
The ensemble scenes are meticulously staged. Corps de ballet formations are clean and intentional, often reflecting hierarchical tensions within the company. There are soaring legato lines matched with sharp musicality that keep the momentum alive and make for a truly exciting piece of theatre. Even in quieter passages, the dancers maintain a strong dramatic focus.
Act two, at just 35 minutes, is where the choreography truly takes flight. The emotional intensity deepens and the movement vocabulary expands into soaring pas de deux and sweeping ensemble work. Bourne’s choreography blends classical ballet technique with contemporary theatricality. The lifts feel weightless yet charged with narrative tension. Extensions are held just long enough to heighten drama. Turns are not simply virtuosic but emotionally motivated.
The central ballet sequence within the story is mesmerising. Here, the red shoes themselves seem to drive the choreography forward. The dancers move with urgency and abandon, their lines elongated and expressive. It is thrilling to watch technique used in service of storytelling rather than display alone.
The cast delivers extraordinary performances. The portrayal of Victoria Page is filled with vulnerability and steel in equal measure by Cordelia Braithwaite, who carries emotional weight in every moment. Andy Monaghan as Boris Lermontov commands the stage with icy restraint, conveying obsession through subtle shifts in posture and gaze. Julian Craster is portrayed with romantic sincerity by Dominic North, his partnering gentle yet assured.
What makes this production particularly remarkable is how strongly the performers act as well as dance. Ballet can sometimes feel emotionally distant to newcomers, yet here every performer inhabits their role fully, with facial expressions, breath, and timing become as vital as footwork. This strong acting and characterisation really helps the audience follow the story and get swept up in the drama of it. The humour woven throughout the production is a welcome surprise; with moments of wit and theatrical flair that lighten the tone without undermining the drama.
The soaring score, orchestrated by Terry Davies, elevates the production to another level. It swells and recedes in perfect harmony with the choreography, amplifying emotional crescendos and intimate exchanges. The music feels expansive and cinematic, yet perfectly suited to the stage.
The set and costume design are nothing short of brilliant. Thanks to Lez Brotherston's design, the stage transforms completely between scenes, shifting from rehearsal rooms to lavish theatre interiors with fluid precision. Partnered with Paule Constable's brilliant lighting design, the production is a multi-layered feast.
Costumes subtly chart character evolution. Small changes in silhouette, colour, and texture communicate shifts in status and emotional state. Victoria’s costumes in particular reflect her journey from hopeful ingénue to tormented star; and of course, the iconic red shoes themselves glow with symbolic power.
One of the greatest strengths of ballet is its refusal to spoon feed the audience, and this production embraces that fully. The story is clear yet layered. Viewers are invited to interpret glances, gestures, and motifs. It asks you to engage actively rather than passively consume. That sense of intellectual and emotional participation makes the experience deeply rewarding and I'd encourage people to take the step into the ballet world if they haven't previously.
Matthew Bourne’s The Red Shoes is theatrical magic at its finest. It balances cinematic grandeur with the immediacy of live performance. It delivers technical excellence, emotional depth, humour, and visual spectacle in equal measure.
This is ballet that feels alive, urgent, and utterly spellbinding- a triumph which reminds us why dance remains one of the most powerful storytelling forms on stage.
★★★★
Reviewed on Tuesday 17th February 2026 by Olivia
Photo Credit: Johan Persson
{AD PR Invite- tickets gifted in exchange for honest review}
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