A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the enchantment begins. In the introduction to this edition, Peter Holland pays particular attention to dreams and dreamers, and to Shakespeare's construction of a world of night and shadows. Both here and in his commentary he explores the play's extensive performance history to illustrate the wide range of interpretations of which it is capable. - ;A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakepeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the enchantment begins. Simple and engaging on the surface, it is none the less a highly original and sophisticated work, remarkable for both its literary and its theatrical mastery. It is one of the very few of Shakespeare's plays which do not draw on narrative sources, which suggests that it reflects his deepest imaginative concerns to an unusual degree. In his introduction Peter Holland pays particular attention to dreams and dreamers, and to Shakespeare's construction of a world of night and shadows. Both here and in his commentary he explores the play's extensive performance history to illustrate the wide range of interpretations of which it is capable. -

One of Shakespeare’s most original and eloquent plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream brilliantly interweaves four contrasting groups of characters to present a many-sided view of love in all its aspects: its joys and sadness, its idealism and selfishness, its physical and spiritual elements. This performing edition was prepared for Propeller’s all-male company of twelve actors, at the Watermill Theatre, Newbury, and toured the West End in 2003. Propeller’s markedly contemporary approach to Shakespeare brought great success for Rose Rage, their version of the Henry VI plays, whichwon the TMA/Barclays Theatre Award for the best touring production of 2001.

Comedy, tragedy, and history are masterfully represented in this anthology of Shakespeare's works. Features A Midsummer Night's Dream, a celebration of the imaginative powers of love; Romeo and Juliet, a gripping and passionate romantic drama; and Richard III, a portrait of a villain who seduces, betrays, and murders his way to the throne. Includes informative footnotes.