Members of the cast of "Oliver!" which is being presented by Burnley Youth Theatre all this week at Towneley Drama Studio. Displaying the art of picking pockets are, from the left, Fagin (Mick Dawson), Artful Dodger (Peter Lavin), Nancy (Abigail Wadsworth) and Oliver (David Lancaster).

If someone said they were taking you to a show where the leading character is a small boy living in an orphanage, sold to an undertaker and caught up by thieves, and where the leading lady is murdered, you could not be blamed if you felt you wanted to avoid such a sad story. But in "Oliver!", the story of Dickens' Oliver Twist, Lionel Bart has created a delightful, funny and superbly theatrical experience. The Youth Theatre is playing all this week at the Towneley Drama Studio, and their presentation of "Oliver!" is an absolute joy.