THE Library Theatre Company have done it again this Christmas with a magical leap into the land of Beauty and the Beast.

Their production of the classic fairy tale has been brought to life with dramatic lighting, dance and action of the highest quality.

The action opens with Belle (Jessica Radcliffe) caught up in a spine-chilling nightmare, where she has a premonition about the loss of her father's fortune in a violent storm.

From this enthralling opening you are transported into the lair of the beast and the impact he has on Belle and her family.

Her father George (Simon Coury) makes a deal with the beast (Douglas Rankine) that means Belle will have to live in the mysterious castle on the moor.

But George is wracked by guilt and only kept alive by his eldest daughter Cassandra, played with wicked delight by Emma Stansfield.

Using original music which counterpoints the dream sequences to mesmerising effect, director Chris Haines has brought a magical world to light.

The final scenes that see Belle carried across the moors on the back of the beast, and his return to the mortal world, are enthralling pieces of theatre.

And if you needed further evidence of how good the show was, there wasn't a peep out of the twenty of more girl guides who sat enraptured at the front of the auditorium.

The production runs until January 19, 2002.

Beauty and the Beast, Library Theatre, Manchester