It was a real life bloody and prolonged conflict over ownership of territory on the Crimean Peninsula. Hundreds of thousands died and it ultimately ended in a stalemate.

Now the conflict is being played out on a chess board, on a stage, by almost 150 Mount Maunganui College students.

Russian King Jesse James, 17, plays Ukranian King Oscar van der Beek, 18, with chess pieces Courtney Gilbert, 17, Tessa Matier, 17, and Ellie Sardelich, 17. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

They'll bring the whole gruesome affair to life at Auckland's Aotea Centre on June 26. They're calling their 2015 Stage Challenge performance ‘Stalemate'.

Mount Maunganui College's head of drama and dance Wayne Flanagan says the overall message of their performance is anti-war.

'There is a sentiment from part of the country to go back to Russian rule. So there's a conflict within Ukraine as to whether they should be self-ruled or Russian ruled.

'Of course, Russia has invaded so there's a tension in the area. We're examining that tension in the Crimea.”

And they're doing it all on a chess board. A six-metre by seven-metre carpet painted black and white.

The students – pawns, rooks, bishops, knights and the king and queen – will take their place on the chess board. Pro-Russian on one side, pro-Ukraine on the other.

'It begins when the Ukrainians and protestors come to the town square and Russians soldiers come to subdue them,” says Wayne.

'It reaches the point of tension. A war bird appears with half a dozen helpers; they set up the chess board and everybody takes their places.”

And just like the real war, there'll be casualties. Obviously fake, but realistic ‘show' deaths.

'It's a very contemporary dance piece,” says Wayne. 'The dancers act on the chess board and as each of the players are taken, they'll be carried off by stretcher-bearers.”

Though unlike the real war – in this re-enactment there'll be romance. An underlying narrative of the love affair between the Ukrainian king and Russian queen.

'The queen has to choose whether to conquer her lover or to live her life,” says Wayne. Without giving away the ending, Wayne says the queen's choice will end in not a checkmate – but a stalemate.