A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Act One

In Athens, Duke Theseus is preparing for his wedding to Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Egeus, a nobleman, comes to Theseus with a complaint: his daughter Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, the man he has chosen for her, because she loves Lysander. Theseus gives Hermia an ultimatum: marry Demetrius, face death, or become a nun. Hermia and Lysander plan to escape to Lysander’s aunt’s house outside Athens, where they can marry. They confide in Helena, Hermia's friend, who is in love with Demetrius. Hoping to win Demetrius’s affection, Helena tells him of Hermia and Lysander’s plan. When Demetrius decides to follow the lovers into the woods, Helena follows him in the hope that he will give up on chasing Hermia and choose her instead.

Meanwhile, a group of Athenian tradesmen, or “mechanicals,” led by Peter Quince, plan to perform a play for Theseus’s wedding. They decide on “The Most Lamentable Comedy and Most Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Nick Bottom, a weaver, is given