A violent street brawl between their rival families is the prelude to Romeo's first encounter with Juliet. Despite this, and the fact that Juliet has been promised to another man in marriage, they fall in love. But any plans for their future happiness are cruelly destroyed by renewed violence between the two families - and while the adults remain almost comically preoccupied with their own affairs, among their children a hidden tragedy begins to unfold.

With its wonderful combination of lyricism, suspense and dramatic changes of mood, Shakespeare's heartbreaking tale is one of the greatest of all love stories. Ellie Kendrick was most recently seen as Anne Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank for the BBC. This production will employ Renaissance staging and costume.