What happens in Act One

Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is preparing for a large festival to mark his marriage to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Egeus, a nobleman, arrives at Court accompanied by his daughter Hermia, the man she loves (Lysander), and the man he has chosen for her to marry (Demetrius). He begs Theseus for the ancient Athenian right to either make his daughter marry Demetrius or have the power to kill her.
Theseus offers Hermia two options: she must marry Demetrius or join a nunnery.

Lysander hatches a plan for him and Hermia to go off into the woods the next night so that they can get married at his aunt's house outside Athens. She agrees.Helena arrives and laments the fact that Demetrius only has eyes for Hermia, even though she loves him far more than Hermia ever could. Lysander tells her not to worry since he and Hermia are sneaking away that night. Helena, now alone, decides she will tell Demetrius about Hermia's plans because that might make him start to love her again.

The Mechanicals (workmen) are gathered to start rehearsing a play which they hope will be chosen as part of the celebrations for the royal wedding.  Their leader Peter Quince hands out the parts for the play, which is based on the legend of Pyramus and Thisbe, and is meant to be a comedy and a tragedy at the same time. Nick Bottom enthusiastically wants to play all the parts! They all agree to meet in the woods outside of the city the next night to rehearse.

What happens in Act Two

Puck appears with another fairy and reveals that his master, Oberon the king of the fairies, has had a major argument with his wife Titania over the guardianship of a little Indian boy. Titania has him and jealous Oberon wants him.Oberon and Titania appear with their attendants and continue their quarrel. But Oberon is determined to have the boy and makes a plan to have his revenge on Titania. He sends Puck off to find a flower which produces a magic juice. He says he will streak this on Titania’s eyes while she sleeps so that when she wakes she will fall in love with the first thing she sees. He hopes it will be a lion, bear, wolf, bull or monkey. He will cure her only when she surrenders the Indian boy to him.

Demetrius arrives, followed by lovelorn Helena. She adores him but he is having none of it. He says all sorts of nasty things to her then sets off into the woods with Helena not far behind. Oberon has watched their conversation and tells Puck that when he has got the magical flower he must use it on the “disdainful youth” (meaning Demetrius) so that he may wake up and fall in love with the “sweet Athenian lady” (meaning Helena.) Puck promises to do Oberon’s bidding.

Titania gathers her fairies around her and they sing a lullaby. When she is asleep, Oberon squeezes the flower juice on Titania’s eyes.
Lysander and Hermia come along and, feeling tired, they curl up for a sleep some distance apart. When Puck finds them he assumes Lysander to be Demetrius and streaks the magic juice on his eyes before returning to Oberon.

Demetrius runs on, pursued by an increasingly desperate Helena. Lysander wakes up and, seeing Helena first, declares his love for her. Helena can’t understand his change of heart and thinks he is making fun of her. When Hermia wakes up the others have gone and she says she has had a nightmare and sets off to find Lysander.

What happens in Act Three

The workmen are ready to rehearse. Bottom suggests Quince write a prologue so that their audience will understand that no real killing takes place during their play and that the lion is not a real lion. Quince outlines how they will represent the moon and the wall with the chink in it through which the lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, will talk. Puck is surpised to find the men so near the sleeping fairy queen and plots some fun at their expense. While Bottom is offstage Puck transforms him into an ass and when he comes back all his friends are frightened and run away. Bottom’s singing wakens Titania…who, because of Oberon’s magic, is instantly in love with him. She thinks he is wise and beautiful and asks him to sing again. She then gets her fairy band to wait on him, feeding him with tasty morsels and leads him off into her bower.

A delighted Puck reports to Oberon that his mistres is love with a monster and the fairy king is extremely pleased, saying his plan couldn’t have worked out any better. He wants to know whether Puck managed to lace the Athenian boy’s eyes with the love potion and Puck confirms that he did. Just then Demetrius appears, being horrible to Hermia. Unhappy Hermia finally goes away and Demetrius lies down to sleep. Oberon realises that Puck put the juice on the eyes of the wrong Athenian. He tells Puck to find Helena and fetch her to him so that he can put things right. He meanwhile squeezes the flower on Demetrius’s eyes. Speedy Puck returns to say that Helena and Lysander are at hand. Oberon tells him to stand aside, realising that the noise of Lysander’s wooing and Helena not believing him will waken Demetrius.
It does! Demetrius is immediately under Helena’s spell. There is lots of squabbling between all four young people about who loves who.   
Oberon is furious at Puck for the muddle he has made and commands that he arrange for Lysander to be separated from the others so that he can crush the herb into his eyes and cause him to think that everything has been a dream.He sets off to find Titania and ask for the little Indian boy. In return he will release her from the spell so she is no longer in love with Bottom. Puck does as Oberon commanded and while the lovers are asleep he squeezes the juice on Lysander’s eyes, reciting a magic spell to make him fall in love with Hermia again. 

What happens in Act Four

Titania and her fairies are making a fuss of Bottom until she sends the fairies away and falls asleep with Bottom.Oberon tells Puck that Titania has handed over the little Indian boy so he will undo the magic and Bottom will go back to Athens thinking the events of the night have been just a dream. When Titania wakes up she and Oberon are reunited in love. They dance but when Puck says he hears the morning lark they take flight with Titania wanting to know what has happened.

Theseus, Hippolyta and the rest of the royal court arrive in a hunting party and discover the sleeping Lysander, Demetrius, Helena and Hermia. Huntsmen sound their horns, which wake the quartet. Lysander speaks up but Egeus interrupts to demand justice. Demetrius explains what has been going on, how they have all been falling in and out of love. Now Demetrius loves Helena and Lysander loves Hermia.

Theseus over-rules Egeus and says that the couples will be married alongside himself and Hippolyta. Happily they all leave for Athens.

Now it is Bottom’s turn to wake up. He tells us that he had had a vision and that he will ask Peter Quince to write a ballad about it so that he can sing it at the end of the play before the Duke.

Quince and the other workmen are wondering what has happened to Bottom when he enters with the news that their play has been short-listed by the Duke for the wedding celebration.

Act Five, Scene One

At court, Hippolyta and Theseus are discussing the strange story of the night which the lovers have told them. The quartet then arrive and Theseus wants to know what entertainment has been arranged to while away the hours until bed time. Philostrate reads out a list of possible plays, including Pyramus and Thisbe, which he says is the effort of the hard-working men of Athens. Theseus picks that one, even though Philostrate warns against it.

With a flourish of trumpets Peter Quinec enters to recite the prologue. The play is performed and Bottom as Pyramus steals the show - despite the best efforts of his supporting cast. But Theseus begs them not to deliver an epilogue! After the play there is a dance and at midnight the royals and lovers go to bed because it is “almost fairy time.”
It is left to the fairies to end the play. Titania and Oberon dance and cast their magic spell and blessing over the marriage beds of the royal couple and the lovers.

Puck says farewell to the audience, begging forgiveness if anyone has been offended by what they have seen. “Give me your hands if we be friends (ie applaud!) and Robin shall restore amends.”