In the words of a song from the show, audience members will be invited to "consider themselves at home" when they watch a Falmouth theatre group's production of Oliver!

Falmouth Theatre Company are putting on the Lionel Bart show to celebrate their 80th anniversary, after first staging it 20 years ago. The current run begins tonight (Tuesday, May 1) at the Princess Pavilion and ends on Saturday, when there will be a matinee performance in addition to the evening show.

Brenda Grove, general secretary, said: "It's shaping up to be a very good show. We've been rehearsing several times a week for the last four months and hopefully everything will go well."

Directed once again by Jenny Brunsden-Brown, who directed the show the first time back in 1987, the cast boasts strong lead performances from Rob Edney in the role of Fagin, Jolyon Hargreaves as Bill Sykes and Laura Brown as Nancy. The title role of Oliver is being shared by two actors - Dexter Gibson and Dylan Frankland - as it is such a demanding part, although the role of the Artful Dodger is being played solely by Martin Skewes.

The story follows young Oliver, who is abandoned in a workhouse but then kicked out for daring to ask for more food. He is taken on as a coffin-follower by an undertaker, but then runs off after getting involved in a fracas and is picked up by the Artful Dodger, who takes him to Fagin's den. Here he is given a roof over his head in returning for picking pockets, but is caught for picking the pocket of kindly Mr Brownlow, who instead of punishing him decides to take him into his home. However, all is not well as the villainous Bill Sykes and his "tart with a heart" girlfriend Nancy hatch a plot to steal him back.

The show includes plenty of toe-tapping numbers, from Food Glorious Food to Pick a Pocket or Two, as well as more emotional songs such as Nancy's heart-rending As Long As He Needs Me.

Tickets for the production are still available and can be bought via the Princess Pavilion box office on 01326 211222