The director of the Tula Youth Theater arranges a truly fiery premiere... and ends up in prison for setting fire to the theater. The only way to get out early is to stage "Romeo and Juliet" by assembling a troupe of prisoners and guards. The irreconcilable enmity between the two clans turns the rehearsals into absurd skirmishes, and the stage into a battlefield. In addition, Shakespeare gives a chance for freedom not only to the director, but also to the new actors who are secretly planning an escape.