Brutally realistic, scathing in its exposure of contemporary cruelties yet also touching and funny, Oliver Twist is a thrilling rags-to-riches story, bustling with vibrant characters and the teeming street-life of mid-Victorian London.

Born in a workhouse, Oliver, a young orphan, knows only hunger and fear under the tyrannical care of Mr Bumble the Beadle. Following a terrifying apprenticeship to an undertaker, he escapes to London where he is taken in by the miserly Fagin and his light-fingered gang, among them the wily artful Dodger, who teach him a new trade - theft.

But Oliver's fate is not to be corrupted by the sinister criminal underworld; his future lies with the comfort and kindness of those he has yet to meet.