Oliver Twist, Library Theatre, Manchester <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fivestar -->

It may not be everyone's idea of Christmas entertainment, but the enterprising Library Theatre has come up with a cracker of a show in Neil Bartlett's adaptation of Oliver Twist.

The directors Roger Haines and Liam Steele have given their production a local angle. A huge opening crash symbolises the landmark dome of the city's Central Library crashing down, creating a rubble of chairs and piles of scattered books. Shadowy figures emerge from the dust, a book is plucked out and the story begins.

The dark sense of being trapped in the underbelly of society is scarcely lightened throughout the show, although some audience interaction brightens the atmosphere. Michael Pavelka's designs, making cunning use of every corner of the stage as well as trapdoors, work surprisingly well as the setting for grim workhouse, Sowerby's undertakers, Fagin's den, Mr Brownlow's Pentonville residence, London streets and Bill Sikes's rooftop accident.

Most strikingly, Peter MacQueen is a horribly compelling Fagin, his long crimson coat, scarlet cushioned surroundings and flickering brazier bringing a splash of blood-red colour to a sequence of 24 un- remittingly grey scenes.

Dickens's own dramatic ingredients are never diluted or dumbed down. The clash between good and evil, and exploitation and antagonism between and within various stratas of society, are all firmly emphasised. The excellent 11-strong cast capture the spirit of melodrama, keep the story moving swiftly along and switch characters as deftly as any pickpocket. Richard Taylor's original score adds its own distinctive note.

In the famous scene in which Oliver asks for more, Mr Bumble (Adam Price) threatens to burst out of his yellow and black waistcoat. Lindsay Allen is a touching Nancy, while Sam Parks's Sikes is an all-too-nasty piece of work. Ceallach Spelling, one of three young boys playing Oliver, turns in a neat performance as a slightly acquiescent though never cowed child.

Oliver's long trudge to London, brief encounters with unsavoury characters, rescue by Mr Brownlow and snatching back to the brutal underworld of vice whirl vividly by. The more brutal episodes are noisily enacted but, thanks to the incorporation of hand puppets, much of the actual physical violence is left to the imagination, making it a show suitable and, judging from the reaction, gripping for eight-year-olds upwards.

To 21 January (0161-236 7110)