Duke Theseus
Egeus
Hermia, his daughter
Helena, Hermia's friend
Demetrius
Lysander
Oberon, King of the fairies (Tim Abell)
Titania, Queen of the fairies
Puck, Privy Counselor to Oberon
Bottom, a clown.
William Shakespeare
The law of Athens was that a father could compel his daughter to marry whomsoever he wanted and if she refused that daughter could be put to death. Egeus, father of Hermia wanted his daughter to marry Demetrius. Unfortunately Hermia loved another Athenian, Lysander. After Hermia refuses her father's request he asks Duke Theseus to invoke the law and put his daughter to death.
Hermia's reason for not acceding to her father's wishes was that she claimed that Demetrius had said that he loved Helena, her friend, and she knew Helena loved Demetrius. However, Hermia did love Lysander and so she went to him and told him of her peril. Lysander proposed hiding Hermia with an aunt of his who lived outside the city. Decided upon their plan the two lovers, Hermia and Lysander agree to meet that night in the woods. Hermia tells Helena of their plans and Helena tells Demetrius. Helena suspects that Demetrius will go after Hermia.
Now the wood was the haunt of the fairies and the King and Queen of the fairies were Oberon and Titania. The fairies held their midnight revels in the woods. During the revels Oberon and Titania fell out. Oberon wanted a changeling boy that Titania had and which she would not give him. In anger Oberon sent for Puck, his chief favourite and Privy Counselor and told Puck to obtain for him the juice of the flower known as 'Love in Idleness'. This juice when put in sleeping eyes causes the slumberer, when they awaken, to to fall in love with the first person they see. Oberon plans to put the juice in Titania's eyes.
Puck goes off on his mission and in doing so he overhears Helena and Demetrius in the woods arguing. He sees Demetrius leave Helena and Helena chasing after him. Now being a mischievous sort, Puck plans a misdeed but Oberon, who has also seen the encounter between the humans decides otherwise. Oberon, feeling friendly towards the true lovers orders Puck to put the juice in Demetrius' eyes when he goes to sleep so that as he wakes and sees Helena he will fall in love with her. Puck goes off to do as he has been told and Oberon puts the juice into Titania's eyes.
Meanwhile, Hermia has escaped her father's house and is also in the woods. She finds Lysander and becoming tired she is persuaded by Lysander to rest. Puck, finding Lysander and Hermia asleep and mistaking them for Helena and Demetrius, puts the juice into Lysander's eyes. Helena, still looking for Demetrius, comes upon Lysander and Hermia and wakes Lysander so she is the first thing he sees. Lysander falls head over heels for Helena and leaving Hermia behind he follows Helena. Catching up with Helena, Lysander professes his love for her, but Helena is angry with him because she knows he loves Hermia and Hermia loves him. She believes Lysander is mocking her and being cruel to her.
Hermia wakes and finds herself alone. She goes off looking for Lysander. Demetrius is still looking for Hermia and distraught at not finding her he sleeps, tired at his efforts. Oberon sees Demetrius and having found out from Puck that a mistake has been made puts the juice in Demetrius' eyes hoping to correct things. Demetrius wakes and the first person he sees is Helena. He professes his love for Helena and upon this scene Hermia and Lysander arrive. Now both men profess their love to Helena. Helena is convinced they are plotting against her and that Hermia is on it. So she and Hermia fall out. While Helena and Hermia argue, Lysander and Demetrius exit to fight for Helena.
Oberon has watched all this and is not happy with Puck and so orders him to create a fog to encompass Lysander and Demetrius so that they miss each other and wander through the woods until they fall asleep from tiredness. Puck then has to drop juice in the right eyes so that Lysander falls in love with Hermia and Demetrius is smitten by Helena and all will be restored.
Oberon returns to Titania and finds her asleep. Spying a clown who had wandered in the woods, got lost and fallen asleep, Oberon places an asses head over the clown's head and puts juice in his Queen's eyes. The clown wakes and seeing Titania goes to her and wakes her. She falls in loves with the clown. Bottom is not that bothered with the Queen's attentions but likes the ministrations of the Queen's hand maidens, who have been ordered to take care of his needs. Titania persuades the clown to sleep in her arms.
Now Oberon makes an entrance and reproaches Titania, teasing her. Embarrassed, Titania hands over the changeling boy that Oberon wanted all along. Having got what he wanted, Oberon feels chagrin at his actions and so reverses the effects of the juice on Titania. He also removes the asses head from the clown and allows him to finish his nap.
Oberon and Titania are reconciled. Oberon informs Titania of the lovers' plight and they come upon all four of them sleeping and Puck nearby waiting to make amends. Lysander wakes and sees Hermia and wonders if he has been dreaming. Helena and Demetrius awake and Demetrius professes his love for for Helena. She realises that there is no plot, no joke. Demetrius promises to go back to Athens and try and change Egeus' mind, but Egeus turns up looking for Hermia. Listening to Demetrius, Egeus changes his mind and agrees not to seek his daughter's death. In fact he gives his consent to her marriage to Lysander. At the same time Helena agrees to marry Demetrius.
Oberon and Titania decide to celebrate the forthcoming nuptials with sport and revels throughout the fairy kingdom.