REVIEW: WAITRESS UK TOUR AT THE PALACE THEATRE MANCHESTER – FINALLY MANAGING A SOLO THEATRE TRIP AGAIN

May 29
7 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Waitress graphic with 10th anniversary text, pink and blue title, and baking tools on a kitchen counter

Finally Seeing Waitress Again

On Wednesday 27th May, I headed into Manchester to see Waitress at the Palace Theatre Manchester.

This theatre trip was actually meant to look very different originally.

I booked my ticket for Waitress the moment tickets first went on sale because I wanted to grab one of the affordable £15 seats at the back of the Circle before they sold out. As it was booked so far in advance, Lawrence and I ended up booking separate performances just in case my parents weren’t available to have the kids.

Originally I had booked the Tuesday evening performance whilst Lawrence booked Wednesday. However, as the show got closer, my anxiety became much worse and I completely lost confidence in going to the theatre alone at night.

Lawrence suggested we swap tickets because my parents were already going to the Wednesday matinee performance, and he thought he had booked the matinee too. The plan was that I’d meet up with my parents beforehand, have lunch with them and then all head to the theatre together, meaning I wouldn’t have to do the trip alone.

However, when we finally transferred the tickets over on Tuesday afternoon, we realised Lawrence had accidentally booked the Wednesday evening performance rather than the matinee. By that point it was too late to change things around, so Lawrence still went to see Waitress on Tuesday night whilst I ended up using his Wednesday evening ticket and heading into Manchester alone after all.

Going to the theatre alone is actually one of the reasons I originally started vlogging my theatre trips in the first place. Having the camera with me gave me something else to focus on and helped ease some of the anxiety around doing solo theatre trips, especially at evening performances.

Recently though, my anxiety has become much worse again, which is why this particular trip ended up feeling like quite a big personal achievement by the end of the night.

By Wednesday morning my anxiety was awful and I nearly talked myself out of going several times throughout the day, but eventually around 6:15pm I forced myself out of the house and headed for the tram into Manchester.

Crowds outside Palace Theatre in Manchester beneath a Waitress musical banner and poster on the beige façade.

Travelling Into Manchester

I got off at St Peter’s Square around 6:50pm before making the walk up to Palace Theatre Manchester.

Even though I’ve done this journey countless times before, I still felt incredibly anxious walking through Manchester alone, especially knowing I was heading to an evening performance by myself.

However, once I reached the theatre and started taking some photos outside, I slowly started feeling a little calmer.

Arriving at Palace Theatre Manchester

After taking some photos outside, I headed into the theatre.

As always, one of the first things I did was head over to the merchandise stand to see what was available.

Lawrence had already bought a programme the night before and we already had the magnet from the previous UK tour, so although I was very tempted by both the tote bag and the oven mitt, I somehow managed not to buy anything this time.

There was actually a really nice range of merchandise available including:

📖 House Programme – £8

📖 Programme & CD Bundle – £25

👕 Logo T-Shirt – £30

👕 Messy Oversized T-Shirt – £30

🧥 Hoodie – £55

👜 Tote Bag – £20

🧢 Cap – £25

☕ Mug – £16

🧲 Magnet – £10

🔑 Keyring – £12

📍 Pin Badge – £9

🍴 Spoon – £10

🥄 Spatula – £10

🧤 Oven Mitt – £20

🧺 Tea Towel – £15

👩‍🍳 Apron – £25

One thing I will say though is that I do think theatre programmes are becoming far too expensive now. House programmes at this production were £8, which personally I think is quite a lot, especially for programmes like this one which mainly contained cast biographies and adverts.

There weren’t really any behind-the-scenes articles or production photos to look through, and most of the information included can already be found for free on the official Waitress website.

I then headed upstairs towards the Circle, although the auditorium hadn’t opened yet, so I waited in the quieter bar area for a little while which honestly helped my anxiety quite a bit as it was less crowded.

The doors opened around 7:05pm and I headed into the auditorium to find my seat.

My Seat at Palace Theatre Manchester

I was seated in Circle Row R Seat 14 right at the back, and honestly I was really impressed with the view considering the ticket only cost £15.

The Circle at Palace Theatre Manchester is really well raked and because the seats are staggered rather than directly behind one another, I never felt like my view was blocked by the person in front.

Although there is an overhang from the Grand Tier above, nothing in Waitress really happens particularly high up on the stage, so I didn’t feel like I missed anything.

Legroom was also much better than I expected and overall I found the seat really comfortable.

For the price, I genuinely thought it was excellent value and I would happily sit there again.

One thing I was also worried about before arriving was how hot the theatre would feel because the weather has been absolutely boiling recently. I’d even packed a hand fan expecting it to be uncomfortable sitting high up in the Circle, but thankfully the temperature inside the theatre was actually really comfortable all evening and I never needed it.

Once I was finally sat down in my seat, my anxiety honestly started lifting almost immediately and I finally began feeling excited for the show instead.

While waiting for the performance to begin, I looked through the programme Lawrence had bought the night before.

The runtime for Waitress is approximately 2 hours 30 minutes including a 20-minute interval, with Act One running around 70 minutes and Act Two around 60 minutes.

Audience seated in a theater, facing a stage with a pink quilt-like backdrop and blue curtains, waiting for a show

The Story of Waitress

I first saw Waitress back in 2021 during its first UK tour and completely fell in love with it then, so I’d been really looking forward to seeing this anniversary tour production.

At the time I originally saw the show, theatres were still recovering after Covid restrictions and audiences were noticeably smaller than they are now, so it felt really lovely seeing the Palace Theatre so full this time round.

It also felt really special seeing Sandra Marvin and Evelyn Hoskins returning to the roles of Becky and Dawn after appearing in the previous UK tour as well.

I’d honestly forgotten just how emotional Waitress can be at times. Although the show deals with some difficult themes, it still manages to feel warm, funny and comforting throughout, and the friendships between Jenna, Becky and Dawn remain one of my favourite parts of the entire musical.

The audience reactions throughout the evening were brilliant and there were so many moments where the whole theatre was laughing loudly together before suddenly becoming completely silent during some of the more emotional scenes.

Smiling woman in a theater holds a Waitress 10th anniversary program; Palace Theatre Manchester visible behind her.

Set Design, Music & Performances

From my seat in the Circle, the diner set still looked lovely and cosy and suited the atmosphere of the show perfectly.

I also really like having the band visible on stage throughout much of the production as it helps the music feel even more connected to everything happening on stage.

One thing I’d forgotten about Waitress is just how many songs I genuinely love in this show. I still had several of them stuck in my head walking back through Manchester afterwards.

Songs including Opening Up, What Baking Can Do, Bad Idea and When He Sees Me all got fantastic audience reactions, whilst Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me brought some of the biggest laughs of the entire evening.

Of course though, the biggest moment of the night was always going to be She Used To Be Mine.

By the time Carrie Hope Fletcher performed it, the entire theatre had gone completely silent and you could feel how emotionally invested the audience were in the performance.

Carrie Hope Fletcher was absolutely brilliant as Jenna and completely drew the audience into her story.

Sandra Marvin and Evelyn Hoskins were both fantastic returning to Becky and Dawn, whilst Mark Anderson completely stole every scene he appeared in as Ogie thanks to his chaotic energy and comic timing.

I also really enjoyed Dan Partridge as Dr Pomatter and it was lovely seeing Les Dennis as Joe again as well.

Cast of a diner musical bows onstage in colorful aprons, with booth seating and a Slice of Heaven Pie sign in the background.

Final Thoughts on Waitress UK Tour

By the end of the evening, I was so glad I had pushed myself to still go despite how anxious I’d felt beforehand.

Not only did I absolutely love revisiting one of my favourite musicals again, but it also felt like quite a big personal achievement finally managing another solo theatre trip after struggling with my anxiety recently.

Warm, funny and deeply emotional, Waitress remains one of the most heartfelt musicals around.

Ten years on, Waitress still serves up one of the most heartfelt nights in musical theatre.

Further Information & Tour Dates

Waitress is at Palace Theatre Manchester until Saturday 30th May 2026.

Tickets are available to purchase through the ATG Tickets website.

The production is also continuing to tour across the UK throughout 2026 and will also be returning to Greater Manchester later this year when it visits The Lowry from 27th – 31st October 2026.

For more information and full tour dates, visit the official Waitress UK Tour website.

If you’d like to read my more theatre-focused review, you can also head over to All About Theatre.

🎥 Watch My Theatre Trip in Weekly Vlog #455

If you’d like to see what I got up to during my trip to see Waitress you can watch it in Weekly Vlog #455. Our trip to the show begins at 02:06 in the video, although the vlog also includes some other family moments from our week.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4ib6v4v4B8