Twenty non-actors from Harlesden, a predominantly Afro-Caribbean area of northwest London, stage a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet . They have just four weeks to explore Shakespeare's great play of love and loss. The production is directed by the Harlesden-born British actor Paterson Joseph and mentored by Australian film director Baz Luhrmann ( Moulin Rouge! , Romeo+Juliet , La Bohème ). The raw experience of the novice actors revitalizes an ancient classic, and the enduring message of the play has strikingly unexpected resonance with the cast.