A SMASH hit on Broadway and the West End, the much loved Wicked makes a welcomed stop at the Welsh capital for more than a month.

A delicious twist on The Wizard of Oz, Wicked is a dark alternative to L Frank Baum's much loved book and the iconic 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

It is told from the side of the loser, in this case the much maligned Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West.

This updated version, based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel and the subsequent book by Winnie Holzman and the songs of Stephen Schwartz (of Godspell fame), is a slick treat from start to finish.

Some say it’s parable about the rise of the Nazis but it can be seen as an allegory of any intolerant regime which inevitably requires a scapegoat to demonise.

There are critics who claim Wicked isn’t a great musical, but it’s got more than its fair share of corking numbers, songs like Popular, I'm Not That Girl and Defying Gravity.

And this is certainly a witty, subversive, sometimes subtle, and almost always enormously enjoyable production.

Nikki Davis-Jones steals the show as Elphaba but Emily Tierney is quite superb in the other lead role as the airhead blonde Glinda who gradually shows her hitherto hidden depths.

Wicked is, pretty wicked actually and runs at the Wales Millennium Centre until April 26.

Iwan Gabe Davies