Diners in the Strand’s new-look Pizza Express restaurant were shocked when the team serving them turned out to be the cast of the hit musical, Waitress. To mark the re-opening of the pizzeria’s Trafalgar Square location, diners in the 350-seater restaurant were treated to a highly spirited table-side performance.

The musical celebration included the aptly-named “Opening Up” starring cast members including Marisha Wallace and Evie Hoskins.

Marisha Wallace, who plays Becky in the show, said: “We had so much fun surprising diners with some of the show’s most recognisable songs. The look on everyone’s faces when we began was amazing – I’d love to do it all over again”

The Waitress cast were joined by seven of the pizza-maker’s resident ‘pizzaiolos’, who flared dough in unison to the performance.

The performers then descended upon Trafalgar Square to continue their celebratory performance outside, much to the delight of on-lookers and traffic who stopped in their tracks to find out what was going on.

Marisha continued: “Our show is all about the fun of baking, and is jam-packed with songs, which are truly good enough to eat. Even though our special surprise performance at PizzaExpress was a one off, we’re serving fully-baked performances down the road at the Adelphi Theatre until Saturday 4 July before touring the rest of the UK. So, if you missed out, why not enjoy a slice or two of the UK’s favourite pizza before heading down the road to see our show!”