Synopsis
Juliet Montague and Juliet Capulet are two Verona teenagers, but the noble Montague and Capulet families are locked in a bitter feud.
They first glimpse each other at a Capulet feast that is being held by Juliet Capulet’s father in the hope that Paris, who he has deemed to be a suitable suitor for her, will begin to win her heart.
Juliet Montague sees Juliet Capulet from a distance and instantly falls in love with her. Whilst watching her, completely entranced, a young Capulet, Tybalt, recognises Juliet Montague. Soon, the couple speak, and the two experience a profound attraction. They kiss, and fall passionately in love without knowing each other’s true identities.
To their horror, they soon discover each other’s parentage. Defying their families, they enter into a whirlwind romance, which culminates in a secret marriage being performed, by Juliet Montague’s friend and confessor, Friar Lawrence, who agrees to marry the young lovers in secret since he sees in their love the possibility of ending the age-old feud between Capulet and Montague.
Tybalt, Juliet Capulet’s cousin is still enraged that Juliet Montague attended the Capulet’s feast and a scuffle ensues. Tybalt stabs Mercutio, Juliet’s friend and he dies. In a rage, Juliet kills Tybalt and flees the scene. Soon after, Juliet is banished forever from Verona for her role in the crime.
Juliet Montague sneaks into Juliet Capulet’s room at night, and at last they consummate their marriage and their love. Morning comes, and the lovers bid farewell, unsure when they will see each other again. Juliet Capulet learns that her father, affected by the recent events, now intends for her to marry Paris in just three days. Unsure of how to proceed, she asks her nurse for advice.
Disgusted with the Nurse’s disloyalty advising her to marry Paris, Juliet disregards her advice and hurries to Friar Lawrence. He concocts a plan to reunite Juliet Capulet with her wife in Mantua. The night before her wedding to Paris, Juliet must drink a potion that will make her appear to be dead. After she is laid to rest in the family’s crypt, the Friar and Juliet Montague will secretly retrieve her, and she will be free to live with her wife, away from their parents’ feuding.
But the Friar’s plan to reveal the marriage and unite the two families cannot hinder the coming tragedy.