Wicked‘s Emma Hatton And Savannah Stevenson: ‘It’s Rare To See Strong Women Represented On Stage’ - EXCLUSIVE

As we gushed earlier, Wicked is the musical that has been entertaining theatre-goers of the West End for almost a decade, with the show first bursting onto the scene 9 years ago and creating a seriously loyal audience.

Telling the untold story of the Witches of Oz, Wicked takes the audience on a truly magical journey as it acts out the prequel to much-loved film The Wizard Of Oz and reveals what turned Elphaba into the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda into the Good Witch of the East.

Whilst we’ve already pondered the many reasons why Wicked is so well-loved, when we caught up with the show’s absolutely incredible leads, Emma Hatton [Elphaba] and Savannah Stevenson [Glinda], we realised yet another thing that made this stage show so incredibly special:

It’s one of very few productions that focuses on strong female characters.

Just let that settle in for a moment; it’s 2015, and Wicked is one of the only musicals to focus so heavily on the importance of female friendships and strong women in general.

Mind-boggling.

Speaking to the cast, they were just as shocked as we were with Savannah explaining: “We are very lucky because it’s a story about two strong women, and sadly that’s very rare in the world and in the West End.

“That’s what makes it so special - the story is a twist on the familiar, a spectacle, the costumes are phenomenal, as is the music, but a lot of people identify with the friendship.”

Emma agrees, adding: “It’s very real, and I think the story of the friendship between them is inspiring. Elphaba’s journey is relatable, it’s about how you need to put aside your judgements and look past the cover of what you are seeing.

“It takes us on an emotional journey and whatever you are going through in your personal life, it can strike chords with you. I think it’s an honour to play something that is so beautifully written, it’s so true and honest.”

We couldn’t agree more.

In fact, the iconic reputation of the show is one of the many reasons why Emma was so desperate to nab a role in it, telling us: “Personally, I was amazed to be let into the show.

“It’s on such a pedestal for me and I think it worked in my favour because I gave my audition my all thinking that I was never going to get it.

“It’s a real honour to play Elphaba - a terrifying honour.”

And we can only hope that the success of Wicked is enough to encourage producers to create even more brilliant female roles for us to look up to.

Wicked is showing at the Apollo Victoria Theatre - click here for more info!