When I heard Wicked was coming to Liverpool I was hoping I would get the chance to see it as I had only ever heard good things about it from friends and colleagues.

As I grew up watching the Wizard of Oz I obviously knew the basics of the story and recognised the main characters Elphaba (Ashleigh Gray) and Glinda (Emily Tierney) as the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Fairy of Oz but that is where my knowledge of the story ended. I soon realised that the Wicked Witch of the West wasn't actually that wicked at all.

The stage design and the costumes are truly spectacular.

Wicked runs at the Liverpool Empire until Saturday, October 11

Ashleigh Gray as the misunderstood Elphaba was nothing short of amazing and her performance of 'Defying Gravity' at the end of Act One completely stole the show for me and most other members of the audience.

I wasn't sure what to expect from former Brookside actor Stephen Pinder but I was pleasantly surprised and he was almost unrecognisable as the Wizard.

My companion for the night was my 13 year old daughter who absolutely loved the show with her favourite performance being Glinda's rendition of 'Popular'.

Wicked runs at the Liverpool Empire until Saturday, October 11 and if you can still get hold of tickets I would definitely recommend you see this spellbinding show.