A vibrant young musical is currently on stage at The Lowry.

Unexpected Twist is a tale based on the classic tale of Oliver Twist mixed with the modern story of a young impoverished girl starting a new school.

What you get is an energetic show full of beat-busting tunes with a cast of young actors delivering a moral tale full of emotional and thought-provoking scenes.

The story revolves around Shona, played by Drew Hylton, who starts a new high school following the death of her mum. Her dad, played by Thomas Vernal, is constantly moving around after he fails to pay the rent on the flats which he rents.

All Shona wants is to fit in with her new classmates and have a mobile phone of her own - especially when the teenagers in her English class poke fun at her for not having one.

The English class is taken by teacher Miss Cavani and played by Rosie Hilal. She tries to get the students to delve into Oliver Twist and look at the back story of the orphan boy and how he comes to deal with what life throws at him.

What Shona is quick to pick up on is that Miss Cavani, who works hard to help the individual pupils in her class see the errors of their ways, also has secrets which she is trying to hide from.

Shona is dazzled with her new friends and quickly gets in with a bad crowd. Teenage boys Pops and Gazz provide her with a new phone and want her to do something for them in return. This involves picking up and delivering packages - drugs and money - to different people.

Alongside all this is Shona’s nan, played by Polly Lister, who herself has been caught up in the criminal world after she fell on hard times years earlier.

The story is played against a backdrop of scenes from Oliver Twist. We see Oliver struggling in the workhouse,  joining Fagin’s gang and meeting the Artful Dodger, encountering Nancy and being made to do the dirty work of Bill Sikes - all scenes which are mirrored by Shona’s current lifestyle.

As Shona deals with all that life has to throw at her, Miss Cavani tries to put  Shona back on the straight and narrow, with some quite emotional scenes.

Shona’s dad also tries to do his best, but he oblivious to his daughter’s struggles as he constantly says he will sort it and offers her chips every day - the only food he can afford.

Unexpected Twist is a modern tale which reflects on the age old problem of people dealing with life on the breadline and the ways which they can pull themselves free.

The play, which is particularly aimed at teenagers, is not your usual musical in that there is no music - all the sounds are made by the actors themselves as they beat-box and mimic the sounds of instruments throughout.

The singing vocals of the cast are also outstanding as they deliver original songs.

The show was developed by Michael Rosen and Roy Williams in an attempt to make Dickens’ more accessible to today’s audiences and if this musical is anything to go by I would say they are succeeding.

The whole show is played out on the same set which doubles up as a classroom, market place and hospital room.

Unexpected Twist is original, unique and full of energy.

If you watch it, make sure you stay until the encore when the cast deliver their own unexpected twist!

It is definitely a show which pushes the boundaries of musical theatre.

Unexpected Twist runs until Sunday, May 7.