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Shakespeare’s intertwined love polygons begin to get complicated from the
start--Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for
Lysander. Bad news is, Hermia’s father wants Demetrius for a son-in-law. On the
outside is Helena, whose unreturned love burns hot for Demetrius. Hermia and
Lysander plan to flee from the city under cover of darkness but are pursued by
an enraged Demetrius (who is himself pursued by an enraptured Helena). I
n the
forest, unbeknownst to the mortals, Oberon and Titania (King and Queen of the
faeries) are having a spat over a servant boy. The plot twists up when Oberon’s
head mischief-maker, Puck, runs loose with a flower which causes people to fall
in love with the first thing they see upon waking.
Throw in a group of labourers
preparing a play for the Duke’s wedding (one of whom is given a donkey’s head
and Titania for a lover by Puck) and the complications become fantastically
funny.
A stellar cast, headed by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline, bring Shakespeare’s
most romantic comedy to life.
When two pairs of star-crossed lovers, a troop of
inept amateur actors, a feuding pair of supernatural sprites and a love potion
gone awry all come together in an enchanted moonlit forest, the result is an
unequalled mixture of merriment and magic.
Also starring Calista Flockhart,
Stanley Tucci and Rupert Everett.
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