Cheeky Monkey Theatre Company is perking up a fairytale about a sleeping princess who is freed from an evil spell by her true love. This special Christmas adaptation of Sleeping Beauty was written by Suzanne Miao, whose previous productions include adaptions of historical legends such as The Pirate & The Princess and The Three Musketeers. Her version of Sleeping Beauty tells the story of Princess Rose, a girl who is cursed by the witch Maleficent. Protecting her against evil are two guardian fairies, Loki and Toki, and a handsome prince. Miao said she had added more spice to the original characters. 'The hero and heroine in fairytales tend to be very washed-out characters. They are there to serve a purpose and are either the victim or saviour. I want to give the two characters a little bit more of an identity than fairytales generally do.' For example, the princess experiences a dramatic emotional awakening when she learns about the truth of her background, while the witch represents those who do not know love. 'The message of the show is simply 'love conquers all'. Maleficent's one weakness is that she doesn't understand love, and it proves to be her undoing. With all her powers, she cannot fight the simple human emotion of love. And this is the whole idea of Christmas, which is all about love and forgiveness,' said Miao. The big and strong - yet silly - fairies Loki and Toki lend a comical element to the show. 'It is the stereotype of fairies that they are small, tiny, beautiful, kind, sweet and always doing good things and waving a little wand that sparkles everywhere. Our fairies don't have wands and have very human characteristics. 'There is also a little bit of rivalry between them about who is smarter and I think kids will definitely be able to relate to them,' said Miao. As the mother of two daughters, Miao believes that children's shows, despite their duty to entertain, should not hide away the darker side of the world from young audiences. 'You have to protect children to some degree, but they have to know that the world is not a fairytale. Life is hard and horrible things can happen,' said Miao. 'They are a lot cleverer than many adults like to think they are.' Sleeping Beauty will be performed at 11.30am and 2.30pm on Saturday and Sunday at Grappa's Cellar Italian Restaurant at Jardine House in Central. Tickets $180 at the door, $150 in advance on HK Ticketing at 3128 8288. Price includes lunch.