A play in five acts by William Shakespeare
Translation: St.O.Iosif
Revised translation: Florin Tornea

Artistic direction: Andrei Brădeanu
Assistant director: Jean Săndulescu
Scenography: Paul Fux
Musical illustration: engineer Lucian Ionescu (Romanian Radio and Television Bucharest)
Choreographic arrangement: Pécsi Aurora
Premiere date: June 3, 1962

Drawing on multiple sources of inspiration – Greco-Roman mythology, medieval legends and English folklore – Shakespeare's well-known creation "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a play whose theme, in words and deeds, is love. It is about blind, irrational, sincere and sometimes capricious love.

The marriage of Duke Theseus to Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, forms the framework of the play, the action of which begins and ends in the duke's palace. The conflict is triggered by an old Athenian law that gave citizens the power to choose suitable husbands for their daughters, and in case of disobedience, to even demand the death of the latter. Using this right, Egeus asks the Duke of Athens to sentence his daughter, Hermia, to death for her refusal to marry Demetrius, scion of a noble Athenian family. The initial situation depicts the mutual love between Hermia and Lysander, as well as the unrequited love of Demetrius for Hermia and of Helena (Hermia's friend) for Demetrius. In order to escape with their lives and save their love, Hermia and Lysander decide to flee through the forest to the house of an aunt where the ruthless law has no power. They are secretly followed by Helena and Demetrius, thus all entering the miraculous realm of fairies and goblins, where everything becomes possible and human laws no longer work according to the known measures. The goblin Puck and the king of the fairies, Oberon, set on mischief, will interfere in the relationships of the four young people, using a love elixir, but, not being exempt from mistakes either, they confuse their identities. After their intervention, both Lysander and Demetrius will love Helena madly, the girls will argue, and the men are ready to duel for Helena's love. But things do not have time to become serious, because a new supernatural intervention removes the charm from Lysander's eyes, who returns to his authentic love for Hermia. Demetrius, however, remains bewitched and forever in love with Helena; Understanding that Demetrius no longer wishes to marry his daughter, Egeus no longer opposes her union with her chosen one, Lysander, so that the wedding at the ducal palace is joined by two other weddings, which will take place on the very day of Hermia's death, the fairy kingdom participating in the general joy with parties and feasts.

Distribution:

Theseus, Duke of Athens:  Liviu Martinus
Aegeus, Hermia's father:  Misu Vladimir, Ion Martin
Lysander, in love with Hermia:  Ion Abrudan
Demetrius, in love with Hermia:  George Pintilescu
Philostratus, master of ceremonies:  Gheorghe V. Gheorghe, Teodor Buzea 
Quince, carpenter:  Constantin Simionescu
Snug, carpenter:  Valentin Avrigeanu
Bottom, canvas:  John the Baptist
Starveling, tailor:  Octavian Uleu
Flutes, bellows:  Grig Schiţcu 
Snout, boilermaker:  Marcel Segărceanu
Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons:  Doina Ioja Vasiu
Hermia, daughter of Aegeus, in love:  Lucia Mureşan (National Theatre Cluj-Napoca), Ana Popa
Helena, in love with Demetrius:  Simona Constantinescu
Oberon, the king of the fairies:  Ricardo Colbert
Titania, queen of the fairies:  Genoveva Matici
Puck, leprechaun:  Sofica Albu Cupsa
A fairy:  Pia Gheorghe, Diana Săbăduş
The clown:  Ludovic Szabo

Prompter: Agy Segărceanu