Wicked - A review of the UK touring production

For one short night, in the Wales Millennium Centre, I witnessed musical theatre magic. I'm still catching my breath a day later.

For those uninitiated readers, Wicked (based upon the Gregory Maguire novel of the same name) is the untold story of the witches of Oz. The musical is told from the perspective of Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (The Good Witch of the North), preceding the events of The Wizard of Oz. We learn how despite their vast differences in opinion and personality, Elphaba and Glinda become friends whilst studying at Shiz University. The story follows the two young women as they are molded and forged by the trials and challenges they face; including a love rivalry, battle against the Wizard's corrupt regime, and Elphaba's eventual downfall. The musical plays with our perceived understanding of the original story, and challenges the audience to rethink their own preconceptions and prejudices. It's about looking at things another way. It challenges our understanding of good vs evil, beauty vs ugliness, and right vs wrong.

I've seen Wicked twice before, in London, with the exceptional Kerry Ellis playing the lead role of Elphaba, Helen Dallimore as Glinda, and the drop dead gorgeous Adam Garcia as Fiyero. I thought I would be hard pressed to find another company as perfect as that. Oh boy, was I proven wrong! I was electrified the entire way through!

The costumes, props, and sets are better than I remember. Obviously some changes have been made to allow for the show to tour, but none of the wonder and spectacle is lost. I dream of one day owning one of the Ozian costumes - they are a glorious confection in emerald! The flying monkeys, which haunted my childhood nightmares, writhe and clamor across the stage in a terrifying chaos of noise. There are several scenes which younger audience members might find a little scary, particularly the visceral No Good Deed, which moved me to tears. Elphaba's pain and feeling of futility oozes from every intonation and gesture.


Emily Tierney opens the show as the wonderfully blonde, beautiful and beloved Glinda. She skillfully balances Glinda innocent self-absorption with an undeniably good heart. Her hilariously breathy rendition of Popular had me in stitches, and her seemingly boundless energy was infectious. I especially loved her nod to Evita during Thank Goodness! Keep an eye out for it. You gotta love musical in-jokes!

Liam Doyle was superb as the handsome prince Fiyero; exuding a charm worthy Zac Efron's star turn as Link Larkin in Hairspray. Madam Morrible is played to perfection by Marilyn Cutts, of Fascinating Aida fame. And a special shout out to Carina Gillespie and George Ure as Nessarose and Boq. Their stories are truly heartbreaking, and are played with a great deal of heart and sensitivity.

However, it's Nikki Davis Jones as the eponymous Wicked Witch, who steals the show! Her performance of Defying Gravity made my heart simultaneously beat like a train, and stop completely! I was still shaking from it well into the start of Act 2; it affected me in such a primal way. Her voice contains such incredible power (man, can she belt out a spine chilling high D flat!) but also has a soulfulness and heartache which comes from deep inside who Elphaba really is. She's now (alongside Kerry Ellis) my all time favourite Elphaba.

If you only see one show this year, please make it this production of Wicked. If there are any tickets left, I'm definitely going to be going again!

Emily Tierney as Glinda and Nikki Davis Jones as Elphaba