Waitress At The Liverpool Empire Review

Reviewed by Gemma Lawford 

I was absolutely desperate to see the production ‘Waitress’. In fact during the pandemic I had booked tickets to see the West End version but due to lockdown his fell through and therefore I jumped at the chance when I saw tickets come up through WGTD. Based on the Jessie Nelson book and with music by the amazing Sara Bareilles, the story follows Jenna, played by Casualty’s Chelsea Halfpenny, a waitress in her local home town diner, who is trapped in an abusive relationship with her childhood sweetheart. With twists and turns along the way, Jenna finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and enters into a fling with her Obstetrician, played by Busted’s Matt Willis.

The set was flamboyant, impressive and fabulous, it really appealed to all of the senses and made me feel engrossed right from the very start. With epic songs including ‘Changes’ and ‘She used to be mine’ I was lost in the production and had all the feels. The show had me laughing and crying and although intense and emotional, it has a real feel good, ‘girl power’ aspect to it which had me cheering and raising the roof along with every other visitor to the show. Vocally, each character was strong but the performance of the night had to go to Chelsea Halfpenny who sounded like an angel. Jenna’s friendship with Dawn and Becky has to be a highlight for me and the portrayal of the characters were everything I had hoped for.

Booking was easy with the Empire communicating with me on the day that there had been some cast changes. We parked in Q Parking at Queens Square, meaning it was only a two minute walk to the theatre and luckily, this only costed us £5.40. The journey into Liverpool was an eventful one, so I would recommend wherever you are coming from you add an extra 15-30 minutes onto your journey due to the current road works from Edge Lane into the City Centre itself.  

As a theatre, the Liverpool Empire has not aged, the building is still steeped in history and looks as classic as ever. Queues are long, so it is best to get to the venue early if you are wanting to purchase merchandise, or refreshments, which were both on the expensive side. The interval was a little under 20 minutes which was a decent enough amount of time to nip to the loo and pick up the complimentary interval refreshments. Toilets were clean and well presented, if a little inaccessible as they are down a flight of stairs. The chairs remain slightly uncomfortable and I personally did struggle, so if you have issues with hips etc, it may be worth taking a cushion. However, this was made up for by the outstanding view of the stage as we were central to all decent viewing points. The staff at the venue were accommodating and welcoming, each taking their time to have conversations with us and check if we were okay. Upon arrival, entry was easy and was the standard ticket and bag check as well as a newer Covid Pass check, which meant we felt safe in he knowledge that although restrictions are now eased, the venue was Covid secure. The venue also still promote the use of Face Masks during the event and this was announced at the beginning.  

All in all, this was an enjoyable evening and it was so good to be back at the theatre again post-Covid!

Rating: I’d give the production a solid 5/5. You can find tickets for the event at https://www.atgtickets.com/shows/jersey-boys/liverpool-empire/ and prices start at £13.00.  

Event address:  

Liverpool Empire, Lime Street, L1 1JE