WHITBY -- On May 21 and 22, Donald A. Wilson Secondary School will open its doors for After Juliet, a play by Sharman Macdonald.   

With more than four months of hard work, the After Juliet production team is ready to set the lights and raise the curtains on the biggest school production since the school's opening in 2004.

After three years of small, one-act productions, Wilson's drama production team of 2008 introduces a modern Elizabethan punk world to the stage. After Juliet is the extended epilogue to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. In this play, a truce between the warring houses has been enforced, peace is mandated and all weapons removed. As a result, life seems to have lost its purpose and passion. Juliet's cousin, Rosaline, a Capulet, is driven by revenge and passion and resists the love of Romeo's best friend, Benvolio, a Montague and her sworn enemy.

But this play is not a deja-vu love story: it is about life and conflict. It examines the impact of imposing, rather than choosing, peace and the fragile border between passion and violence.

An ensemble cast of 14 is augmented by 10 dancers.

Dedicated volunteers and parents have also given their time and effort to help the production reach a level of professionalism.

The play will run at 7:30 p.m. at the school, 681 Rossland Rd. W. Tickets will be sold at the door, $6 for students, $8 for adults.