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.