A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare

Shakespeare's play takes place in Athens, Greece.   

There are three groups in the play - the Athenians, the actors and the fairies.

The Story

Hermia is ordered to marry Demetrius by her Father.  She is in love with a man called Lysander and says no.  Lysander and Hermia run away into the woods around Athens where there are fairies.

Demetrius follows them into the woods and a woman called Helena follows him.  Helena loves Demetrius but Demetrius doesn't love her back.  He loved her in the past.  Helena begs Demetrius to love her again.

Oberon the king of the Fairies, sees Helena and feels sorry for her.

Oberon is angry with his Queen, Titania, as she refuses to give him a changeling child to be his servant (a changeling is a baby adopted by the fairies from the humans whose Mother died). Oberon commands Puck, a mischievous fairy, to find a magic juice made from a plant called 'love in idleness'.  He wants to play a trick on Titania to humiliate her.  He asks Puck to put the juice on Titania's eyelids while she is asleep.  This will make her fall in love with the first things she sees when she wakes up.

Oberon decides to help Helena so also asks Puck to put the juice on the eyes of an Athenian man who is in the forest.

Puck puts the juice on Titania's eyes and changes an actor's head (called Bottom) into a donkey's head.  Bottom is practising for a play in the woods with some other actors.  The other actors run away from Bottom when they see that he has turned into a man with the head of a donkey.  Puck brings Bottom to Titania and she falls in love with a man who has a donkey's head.

Puck and Oberon in a recent film of the play

Puck puts the juice on the wrong Athenian man and both men love Helena.  He puts this right on Oberon's command and then the right people fall in love with each other.  Oberon and Puck undo their bad magic and do good.  They have an antedote to the Love-in Idleness which they use and they change Bottom back into a proper man again without a donkey's head.

In the end Hermia and Lysander get married and so do Helena and Demetrius.  The play ends with Puck telling the audience that it was all dream.

The actor 'Nick Bottom' with a donkey's head

Click on the link below to hear a simple story of the play for children which uses some of Shakespeare's real words:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/misc/stories/misc-midsummernightsdream/

Here is a detailed list of the characters in the play:

The Athenians Theseus – Duke of Athens Hippolyta – Queen of the Amazons, betrothed to Theseus Philostrate – Master of the Revels Egeus – father of Hermia, wants her to marry Demetrius Hermia – in love with Lysander Helena – in love with Demetrius Lysander – in love with Hermia Demetrius – in love with Hermia at first but later loves Helena

The Fairies Oberon – Titania's husband and King of the Fairies Titania – Oberon's wife and Queen of the Fairies Robin Goodfellow/Puck – servant to Oberon Peaseblossom – fairy servant to Titania Cobweb – fairy servant to Titania Moth – fairy servant to Titania Mustardseed – fairy servant to Titania First Fairy, Second Fairy

The Actors Peter Quince – carpenter, leads the troupe and plays Prologue Nick Bottom – weaver, plays Pyramus Francis Flute – bellows-mender, plays Thisbe Robin Starveling – tailor, plays Moonshine Tom Snout – tinker, plays Wall Snug – joiner, plays Lion