THE classics and the big budget musicals have their place, but the theatre that really excites me is the sort that features real people and real issues.

Beautiful House, the Library Theatre’s latest production, certainly falls into that category.

A lively mix of laughter and tears, it comes from the pen of Cathy Crabb who demonstrates a remarkable gift for playing with the audience’s emotions, turning poignant situations completely on their head.

With a cast led by TV face John “Early Doors” Henshaw, the play focusses on two very different couples facing two very different sets of challenges.

Ronnie and Bridgette, played by Henshaw and Janice Connolly, have given up their comfortable home for their terminally ill daughter.

The idea being that the poor lass can end her days in the sort of surroundings she and her husband can’t afford.

Their young neighbour Otis (James Foster) dreams of a better life for him, his wife Paula (Sally Carman) and their young daughter.

He feels he’s trapped in a high rise hell. Paula, on the other hand, would rather talk endlessly about interior design.

I use the phrase very loosely, as Paula has turned their flat into a cathedral of tat. She is definitely the woman thar taste forgot.

Performances under Noreen Kershaw’s direction are effortlessly natural in a play that also has a strong social conscience.

* Until May 8. The box office is on 0161 236 7110.