Magical alternative to panto

There is something about panto that makes my skin creep. Probably because I remember all those years of being dragged to see Jack and the Beanstalk starring The Krankies in the Seventies.

The posh children would sit near the front and be invited on stage to win all the prizes. People would laugh at the plain or gay characters. The bullies triumphed as ever. Even in these days of alternative panto - where it's more likely to have been scripted by Stephen Fry or Mark Ravenhill - I remain extremely nervous about the message.

Which is why if you're looking for a post-Christmas show for the kids, I'd recommend Wicked. It's been around for over a year now, but the hit musical is just as powerful and subversive as ever.

Based on the cult novel by Gregory Maguire (who adapted the original Wizard of Oz story), it's a fabulous night out, with kitsch costumes, ruby slippers and an Emerald City to rival any computer game.

Having opened to mixed reviews in September 2006, Wicked has become one of London's most fervent cults, inspiring extraordinary devotion in fans gay and straight.

Any teenager who's ever felt like an outsider will relate to the story of bookish outcast, Elphaba (born a fetching shade of green) whose harsh treatment by her peers earns her the name the Wicked Witch of the West. Which, no doubt, is why Ed Balls recently chose the show to launch a £3 million anti-bullying campaign, appearing on stage with the actors.

In between the show tunes, there's a very adult allegory. The original Judy Garland film was made in 1939 on the eve of Nazi domination. When Maguire came to adapt the modern version in the 1990s, he was living in London at the time of the James Bulger case and the Gulf War. He says he wanted to explore the root of incomprehensible evil - and whether Saddam Hussein was the next Hitler. So Oz becomes a land of animal experimentation and a yellow brick road built by Munchkin slave labour.

I'm making it sound too worthy. Wicked is a great big luscious Broadway extravaganza with two strong female leads and a lot of power ballads. But there's medicine in with the sugar.

Box office: 0844 826 8000.

Wicked
Apollo Victoria Theatre
Wilton Road, Westminster, SW1V 1LG