Songe d’une nuit d’été

The entire account of that night and all their spirits transformed at the same time—all of this is more convincing than imaginary visions. It feels very... substantial. And yet, it is strange and wonderful. ”

Shakespeare wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream between 1594 and 1595, eager to meet the enormous demand for new entertainment plays during the Elizabethan era. Four young lovers find themselves lost in an enchanted forest where the boundaries between dream and reality blur, and where fairies and spirits play with their fates. Love shifts, identities waver. In the neighboring forest, Oberon, king of the fairies, argues with Titania, his wife, about their many past and present conquests. Add to this two pairs of star-crossed lovers—Hermia, who is in love with Lysander but betrothed to Demetrius, who is loved by Helena—and a troupe of craftsmen rehearsing a tragedy for their king’s wedding, under the direction of the colorful Bottom. This whole little world eventually finds itself in the forest, where Oberon’s spells, aided by the elf Puck, will sow confusion over the course of a night that no one will ever truly know whether it was a dream, a game, or a fantasy. A dream?