Benjamin Wilson’s painting shows David Garrick (1717–1779) as Romeo and George Anne Bellamy (ca.1731–1788) as Juliet in Garrick’s adaptation of Shakespearre's play. Garrick allows Juliet to wake from her drugged sleep before Romeo dies of poison, and the lovers have time to say their final farewells. This tear-inducing scene was so effective that it was included in productions throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Garrick, who was manager of the Drury Lane Theatre, wrote his adaptation for Spranger Barry and Susannah Cibber, who played the lovers in 1748 at Drury Lane, but in 1750 Barry and Cibber left to join the rival theatre company at Covent Garden. When the Covent Garden management advertised that its new stars would be appearing in Garrick’s version of Romeo and Juliet on 28 September 1750, Garrick promptly announced that he would play Romeo on the same night, with the popular actress George Anne Bellamy as his Juliet. The rival theatres then went into competition, with both staging the play for 12 successive nights. Covent Garden abandoned the rivalry after the twelfth performance but Garrick went on to present a thirteenth and commentators declared him the victor. Though Barry benefited from good looks, Garrick’s performance was judged the more successful, particularly in the pathos of the tomb scene.

Benjamin Wilson (1721-1788) made at least three versions of this painting. Others are held at Stourhead in Wiltshire and at the Yale Centre for British Art. Though presented naturalistically, the setting reflects Garrick’s staging, with the action taking place in the lighted tomb at the rear of the stage.