A Midsummer Night's Dream

Athens. The beautiful Hermia is promised to the soldier Demetrius, but she has long since given her heart to the bohemian flute player Lysander. Amazed by his playing under the window, she ignores Demetrius' knocking. Insulted, the soldier initiates a duel. Hermia's father Egeus, who is of course on the groom's side, takes the rivals to the ruler Theseus. His verdict is in Demetrius' favour. – The whole Athens prepare for the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. – Hermia and Lysander flee into the forest. Helen, who is in love and has been trying to seduce Demetrius, tells him of their escape. – Six Athenian craftsmen, under the guidance of the carpenter Peter Quince, prepare a play for tomorrow's celebration. The most ambitious of them, Nick Bottom the weaver, would prefer to play all the parts himself. The volunteers are rehearsing the classic theme of the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. With the noisy preparations for the celebrations, the actors have no time to rehearse in the city, so they move from Peter Quince's workshop to the forest. – The ruler there, Oberon, King of the Elves, seeks the heart of Titania, Queen of the Fairies, but she stubbornly refuses him. So, the king sends the mischievous elf Puck to a distant island for a magical flower. Whoever smells it will fall in love with the first creature he sees. – Into the forest come the craftsmen, then Lysander and Hermia, followed by Demetrius and the sneaking Helena. – Oberon orders Puck to fix the situation with the leader of the soldier who is sabotaging happy love. Puck gets confused in the dark and accidentally charms Lysander, who wakes up and sees Helena first. – Oberon watches the theatrical rehearsal for a while and then orders Puck to disperse the amateur actors and punish Nick Bottom for his bragging. Puck puts a donkey's head on the weaver and the scared actors run away. – Oberon continues his revenge: he gives Titania a sniff and makes her fall in love with Bottom. He does not resist the affections of the queen and her servants. – Hermia wakes up, but Lysander is gone. – Oberon tells Puck off for his mistake. He tries to make fix the situation and allows Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, who is, of course, being seduced by Lysander. The rivals begin to fight over her, and Puck must intervene again. This time he sets things right. – Eventually has Oberon mercy with Titania. He cuts Peter Quince out and puts himself in his place. At dawn, Quince awakens and summons his scattered friends. – Theseus arrives in the forest with his bride-to-be. During the hunt, they encounter two sleeping lovers. Hermia's father has the right to kill Lysander, but moved by his sincere love, he agrees to let his daughter marry her chosen one. – There are now three wedding in Athens. The celebration is accompanied by performers' shows and amateur actors from theatre. They prepared a play about a couple, to whom stood everything in the way: first the wall, then the lion, and only death brought them together. Just when the actors do not know how to carry on their play, Puck intervenes. Thanks to a flower and a conjured phantom, Quince delivers a moving performance. The show is a great and well-deserved success. – It is night again. Puck metaphorically sweeps away all that is ugly and deceitful. – The commentary assures the audience that all that has happened here was a dream of Shakespeare's.