FORGET everything you think you know about the story of The Wizard of Oz.

Wicked brings together all the loose threads of the original fantasy tale, answering questions you hadn’t even thought of – including ‘why is the wicked witch green?’ ‘How did the scarecrow and tin man come about?’ And, most intriguing of all, ‘was the wicked witch really wicked?’

This fantastic musical first opened 14 years ago, and is becoming almost (but not quite) as popular as the movie which inspired it.

With its sumptuous, elaborate costumes and staging – including the glorious colours of the scenes set in the Emerald City - Wicked is a real feast for the eyes.

And it’s not too bad on the ears either – I was blown away by the power and range of the voices of both Amy Ross, as Elphaba, and Helen Woolf as Glinda.

These must surely be two of the toughest, yet most sought-after vocal roles in musical theatre and were performed faultlessly. Two different voices when performing solo, blending beautifully together in their soaring duets.

I did find the first half of the show a teeny bit slow to get going, but the story certainly picked up pace towards the end of act one and throughout act two.

There is plenty of humour too, with clever one-liners referring back to the original tale.

A truly magical show – well-deserving of the standing ovation it received.

Wicked is at Southampton’s Mayflower Theatre until October 27.