Evelyn Hoskins: ‘It’s a huge responsibility’ to tell Waitress’ story

“People don’t talk about the non-romantic loves in their lives enough,” Evelyn Hoskins starts.

She is sitting in her dressing room in Glasgow, the week after performing her 500th show as Dawn in Waitress – a role she has played in the West End and across the country. And it is one she will never tire of.

Dawn, the once-introverted waitress, finds her match in fellow oddball Ogie. But her story is also about the friendships that help her find her place in the world, namely her great friends, Jenna and Becky: “Those are the relationships that are like the most consistent often, when often the focus is on the romance.”

The Tony Award-winning musical boasts an all-female creative team, and Hoskins recalls director Diane Paulus addressing the male cast members, saying: “I just want to thank you for supporting these female roles on stage. And I want to thank you for letting these female roles shine through.” Hoskins continues: “In musical theatre, that is so rare.”

Hoskins has performed as the “funny sidekick” opposite many different Jennas, including the show’s composer, Sara Bareilles, and more recently WhatsOnStage Award winners Carrie Hope Fletcher and Lucie Jones. The friendships she develops and shares with these women inform her performance, as does the humour within the cast. “We get given license for that. It’s never just stand on three and look here and look there. [The team] really do want to create that like bond depending on who’s playing the roles.”

Affectionately called “the pie show” by fans, the musical centres on a small-town diner waitress with a penchant for baking. She leans on the support of her friends when she becomes pregnant and is eventually able to escape an abusive relationship. It’s a storyline that feels “quite personal” to Hoskins, who shares that she has experienced an abusive relationship herself.

“When we were in the West End, we had this board where people could write messages and leave them. And it was actually quite shocking how many people said that the show made them realise that they were actually probably in an unsafe relationship. They recognised those behaviours, and the show made them realise that. It is obviously a huge responsibility.”

“I think the fact that Jenna doesn’t end up with any man is a really special message”

The emotional abuse between Jenna and Earl makes for uncomfortable viewing. These stark scenes cut through the warmth and humour of the wider musical, making them all the more affecting.

“I think the fact that Jenna doesn’t end up with any man is like a really special message. I remember seeing it for the first time, and I was like, ‘How refreshing to see that she chooses herself. She chooses her daughter, and she chooses herself.’ It is amazing in commercial musical theatre to be able to show that subject matter.”

The conversation returns to the wider conversation of consent. Against a wider backdrop of renewed public discussion about sexual abuse and the treatment of women, with headlines about allegations at Cornell University, Hoskins points to the ways in which Waitress quietly places women in control of their own physical boundaries.

She shares that if you watch the show carefully, you will notice how much it leans into consent. Jenna always kisses Pomatter first, and women always lead the physical touch; the choreography of “Take It From an Old Man” shows the women going first. “It’s cathartic knowing that hopefully we’re helping people who might be in a similar situation that I was once in.”

We discuss Adrienne Shelly, the original screenwriter, director, and star of the 2007 Waitress film. Shelley was murdered in 2006, before the film’s release. She did not live to see its impact. “Everything we do is out of respect for her; it is what she would have wanted,” Hoskins says.

Away from Dawn, Hoskins originated the role of Carol in the WhatsOnStage Award-nominated 42 Balloons. Jack Godfrey’s musical tells the true story of Larry Walters, who famously used 42 weather balloons to fly in his lawnchair. Carol, his fiancée, helped him realise his ambition. During the development, Hoskins was able to meet the real Carol and find out about her dreams.

“I remember asking her, ‘What were your dreams? Did you have any?’ and she said, ‘No, not really. Maybe I did. I can’t remember.'” For Hoskins, the response raises questions about the ambitions women set aside in support of others. “I think what’s really interesting about her is that she spent her life helping Larry achieve his dream.”

For Hoskins, being able to perform as Dawn 500-odd times is just as freeing as it was the very first time. “Every performance is special.”