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    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    A Midsummer Night's Dream
    Audiobook1 hour

    A Midsummer Night's Dream

    Written by William Shakespeare

    Narrated by David Krumholtz, Stacy Keach and Simon Helberg

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Shakespeare combined his love of theater with Greek mythology and the supernatural to create what is arguably his most playfully imaginative work. From love potions to bizarre transformations to the unforgettable play-within-a-play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a non-stop delight, and remains one of the milestones of the Bard’s canon.

    An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring:

    Tara Barr as Hermia
    Erin Bennett as Moth and Second Fairy
    Jamie Bamber as Oberon
    Janine Barris as Peaseblossom and First Fairy
    Brendan Bradley as Lysander
    Chris Butler as Theseus
    Kyle Colerider-Krugh as Egeus and Robin Starveling
    Sue Cremin as Hippolyta
    Hector Elizondo as Peter Quince
    Logan Fahey as Francis Flute
    Glenne Headley as Titania
    Simon Helberg as Demetrius
    Stacy Keach as Nick Bottom
    David Krumholtz as Puck
    Danny Mann as Snug
    Jon Matthews as Cobweb and Mustardseed
    Kira Sternbach as Helena
    André Sogliuzzo as Philostrate and Tom Snout


    Directed by Martin Jarvis.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherL.A. Theatre Works
    Release dateNov 15, 2013
    ISBN9781580819299
    Author

    William Shakespeare

    William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest playwright the world has seen. He produced an astonishing amount of work; 37 plays, 154 sonnets, and 5 poems. He died on 23rd April 1616, aged 52, and was buried in the Holy Trinity Church, Stratford.

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    Reviews for A Midsummer Night's Dream

    4/5

    4,214 ratings68 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      A reasonably mild edition of a great play, but one that will be eminently suitable for highschool students and actors.
    • 4/5
      This is a play written by William Shakespeare. This is about a royal wedding, fairies, tradesmen and a messed up problem with people in love. First there is the royal wedding Thesues is going to marry Hippolyta. Then thare are the tradesmen who want to put on a play with for the royal wedding. The play is Pyramus and Thisbe. Then there is Lysander and Hermia, they are in love. Hermia though is susposed to marry Demetrius. Helena though loves Demetrius. Then there are the fairies. Oberon is the king and Titania is the queen. They are fighting over an orphan Indian boy. Oberon gets Puck to put love juice in Titania's eyes so she will fall in love with whatever she first sees. Puck gets one of the tradesmen named Bottom and turns his head into a ass's head. Titania falls in love with Bottom. Puck also puts the love juice in Lysander and Demetrius's eyes so they fall in love with Helena. Later Puck removes the love juice from Lysander. He also removes it from Titania because Oberon got the orphan boy. Later Thesesus announces that the two couples can get married when he gets married. The tradesmen perform their play and the audience likes it. I liked this book pretty will. We had to perform it in class. I also like how it is put in modern english on the other page. I like it because if I don't understand what something means then I can see it on the other page. At the end I had to be Flute, on of the tradesmen, and act out Thisbe, the girl in "Pyramus and Thisbe". That was funny because I had to talk in a high voice and wear a wig. I really like how it all get torn apart and put back together agian in the end. This is a good play and is fun to act out. So if you are looking for a good play to do in class this is a great one.
    • 3/5
      Studied it for A Level. I wasn't really fond, though there were some good/clever bits in the writing.
    • 5/5
      This my favorite Shakespeare comedy. It is has a contemporary ring to the story line.
    • 4/5
      A Midsummer Night's Deam is the story of four couples. Theseus and Hippolyta are about to get married, after Theseus captures the Queen of the Amazons (and presumably some sort of courtship, since she seems to be amenable to getting married). Hermia wants to marry Lysander, despite her father's objections. Helena wants to marry Demetrius, if only he weren't in love with Hermia. And Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies, are having a tiff about household help. After an evening wandering around the woods, with a little enchantment, humor and chaos, they get it all sorted out.The only happy ending I dislike is Oberon and Titania. Oberon gets his way by making his wife ridiculous, about which she doesn't seem the slightest bit upset. I doubt Queen Elizabeth would have put up with that kind of treatment.
    • 3/5
      A midsummer nights dream is about four different stories that each event in them affects all of them. On stories is about the kings wedding, other one is about two cabals leaving Athens to escape the Athenian law that says they cant marry, and another one is about five trades men preforming a play for the kings wedding, and the final one is about two fairies that are king and queen of the fairies. the king and future queen of Athens are planning their wedding, and the kings party planners daughter doesn't want to marry the man her father picked and wants to marry someone else, the five trades think they are very good and are the best so they perform for the king. final the king and queen fairy are fighting and cause lots of trouble. i didn't really like this book its not something i want to read more than once. But it is also a classic and some teaches make you read. but if you don't like lots of romance and drama then don't read this book.
    • 4/5
      Fast and fun. I liked the characters and comedy alike.
    • 5/5
      great!! I love this show!
    • 5/5
      I have read this book twice and I really like it, it even might be my favorite among Shakespear books, for some reason the song "Strange And Beautiful (I'll Put A Spell On You)" Lyrics by Aqualung always reminds me of this book:

      I've been watching your world from afar
      I've been trying to be where you are
      And I've been secretly falling apart... Unseen
      To me, you're strange and you're beautiful
      You'd be so perfect with me
      But you just can't see
      You turn every head but you don't see me

      I'll put a spell on you
      You'll fall asleep
      When I put a spell on you
      And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see
      And you'll realize that you love me

      Sometimes the last thing you want comes in first
      Sometimes the first thing you want never comes
      But I know that waiting is all you can do
      Sometimes

      I'll put a spell on you
      You'll fall asleep
      When I put a spell on you
      And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see
      And you'll realise that you love me

      I'll put a spell on you
      You'll fall asleep
      Cause I put a spell on you
      And when I wake you I'll be the first thing you see
      And you'll realize that you love me
    • 4/5
      While I am not a huge Shakespeare fan I did find this particular play to be pretty darn good. I enjoyed the fact that there was this mix of fantasy with ideas that we can all relate to with unrequited love. It was fascinating to see how Shakespeare made fun of his own play "Romeo and Juliet" within the story as well. There is such a great woven story here that anyone that enjoys reading plays should read this. This was another book that I had to read for my Theatre course.
    • 5/5
      Beautiful copy of Shakespeare's play, with the text written out by hand and Arthur Rackham's gorgeous illustrations and decorations. Gave away my copy of this to my niece one Christmas, and recently found this replacement. I'm not sure it's the same size.
    • 5/5
      It's Shakespeare. Wonderful story but I prefer his tragedies.
    • 4/5
      Shakespeare is always a playwright I enjoy, but I always try to read each play shortly before going to see it. That way, I get the best of both worlds. I can linger over the text so I can fully appreciate and understand it, then see the play so that I can hear the lyricism.

      Sadly, since I much prefer seeing a live performance than seeing a film version, this means I end up reading and seeing the same dozen or so of his most popular plays over and over again. One of these days I'll break down and rent a few videos so that I can fill in all the gaps in his plays I've never seen.

      This is probably the fifth time I've watched and read A Midsummer Night's Dream. I love the ending aside by Puck -- so much so that I have it memorized by now.
    • 4/5
      Lyrical and mesmerizing! I got a dramatized audio copy of this book. It really brings this story to life!

      A very different love story for the ages. Couplings, love triangles, love quads, and love chases. It is all here. Thank you fantasy forest for all this wonderful chaos. Some parts a whimsical, others near tragic, some comedy. You never know what the next scene will hold.

      When just listening to this, it can take a bit to follow the story at first. I had no idea who anyone was and names are not mentioned enough to quickly catch on. The only indication to the setting is the sounds you here. It really is just like listening to a play. They even have a full cast for the audio so each character is voiced by someone new. While it makes it far more enjoyable it just made things take a little longer.

      I finally got to learn where several famous quotes and expressions came from. Hearing certain lines brought a smile to my face. Now I just need to read the print version of this book so I can be sure I didn't miss anything. I now have a mental soundtrack to go with it.
    • 4/5
      While I am not a huge Shakespeare fan I did find this particular play to be pretty darn good. I enjoyed the fact that there was this mix of fantasy with ideas that we can all relate to with unrequited love. It was fascinating to see how Shakespeare made fun of his own play "Romeo and Juliet" within the story as well. There is such a great woven story here that anyone that enjoys reading plays should read this. This was another book that I had to read for my Theatre course.
    • 4/5
      "If we shadows have offended,/Thing but this--and all is mended--/That you have but slumber'd here/While these visions did appear./And this weak and idle theme,/No more yielding but a dream,/Gentles, do not reprehend;/If you pardon, we will mend./And, as I'm an honest Puck,/If we have unearned luck/Now to' scape the serpent's tongue,/We will make amends ere long;/Else the Puck a liar call:/So, good night unto you all./Give me your hands, if we be friends,?/And Robin shall restore Amends"

      By ending the play with this quote, Shakespeare seems to leave it for us to decide whether the events that occurred in the woods, or if they were dreams. Perhaps this play is what inspired Louis Carroll and Frank L. Baum to do the same in their famous stories.

      Everything that happens in the woods is somewhat confusing--for the characters at least. We know more-or-less what is going on, being party to Puck and Oberon's doings, but, as will sometimes happen in a dream, the characters are buffeted by abrupt changes to themselves, and those they care about. One moment Demetrius is cruel to Helena, the next he loves her. At one time Lysander loves Hermia, then claims to despise her, then back again. No wonder the characters were confused. These kind of character changes only happen in dreams, or if a person is crazy.

      Every character in the play is victim to Oberon's whims, including Puck, and every character is the subject of Puck's gaffe or impishness. Oberon wants Titania's changeling. A child to whom she is attached because she was friends with his mother, and so Oberon devises a cruel game to trick Titania into giving the child to him. Along the way he decides to help Helena, but tells Puck only to find a man in Athenian clothing to enchant into love with Helena, so Puck finds Lysander, who then upsets Helena by claiming to love her, and breaks Hermia's heart. Demetrius and Lysander could have hurt one another--therefore further breaking their lady's hearts--in the turmoil that followed.

      Bottom is the subject of Titania's manipulated love and Puck's parody on the two of them. Through that the rest of Bottom's troupe is also victim, being frightened, and having their practice interrupted (maybe their play wouldn't have been so painful to read if they had been able to practice more).

      A Midsummer Night's Dream has got to be the most popular Shakespearean play there is. It's one of the one's that I became familiar with through Jim Weiss (though this is my first time reading the actual play) and it has been brought into books and movies, it has been adapted into movies. It has become a ballet via Felix Mendelssohn (part of which is a violinist's nightmare,) an opera by Benjamin Britten, and has shorter pieces written for it by Henry Purcell and Ralph Vaughn-Williams.

      (Please note that this review was written as a discussion post in an online Shakespeare class.)
    • 3/5
      his is not my favourite Shakespeare play, but it does have a fair number of quotes I do use. A number of Athenian tradesmen are rehearsing a playt to be presented at the marriege of theseus and Hippolita when they become enmeshed with the court of Obernon, the king of the fairies. Hi-jinks ensue.
    • 4/5
      As a play, this is great to watch, especially with a cast that understands the text and can play up to the brilliant comedy of Shakespeare. But, as someone who is reading it as literature, it becomes a much darker entity. From the pranks pulled on Titania, Hermia's possible sentence of death if she doesn't marry Demetrius. I was surprised at how how Shakespeare handled the tradesmen's play of Pyramus and Thisbe, Hippolyta and Theseus make gentle fun at the players. The best parts of the story really is the the play within a play - As for this specific edition - I liked the information about Shakespeare, his theater, his day to day life. It even accounts for Shakespeare's education. I found the explanation of certain phrases and words paired WITH the actual play very useful, although at times, it was more distracting than not.
    • 3/5
      Well this audio production of one of my favourite Shakespearean comedies is a mixed bag. The cast is great but some of the direction/sound choices are not so good. Any time a production writes music for one of Shakespeare's songs it has the potential to get weird and this version does for sure. And while I've listened to audio productions of plays that have significant physical comedy elements and do it well, this one missed more than a hit. It took me longer than it should have to realize that Bottom's transformation into an ass had occurred. I also think they cut down Puck's speeches, which I will never forgive as he's my favourite. Ultimately, a good play but not served well by this production.
    • 3/5
      Saw at the Young Vic, London. Haven't read this since High School, think it needs a strong production to make it really sing - the play within a play is a riot though.
    • 4/5
      It's a consistently fun romance with a larger dose of humor than some of his plays, which I appreciated.
    • 4/5
      This classic Shakespeare comedic play features two men in love with the same woman who both end up falling for another woman after Puck errs. Shakespeare, who often incorporates elements of fantasy, included faeries in the play. There's even a play within the play in this one. It's not my favorite Shakespeare play, but it's a good one.
    • 4/5
      " The course of true love never did run smooth."This is one of Shakespeare's most performed comedies and as such probably one of his best known. Consequently I'm not going to going to say anything about the plot. I personally studied this whilst at school as part of an English Literature course and despite my callow years I remember enjoying. However, I haven't read it since.Now, far too many decades later, I read Bernard Cornwell's novel 'Fools and Mortals' which centres around a speculative and fictional première of the play. Having really enjoyed reading that book decided to revisit the original. Once again I found it a highly enjoyable read which made me smile and a piece of true genius.
    • 3/5
      I've been meaning to catch up on various Shakespeare plays that "everyone" has read, and after finishing a book and having no immediate plans for what to read next, A Midsummer Night's Dream was conveniently waiting for me on my Kindle.In short, I didn't really like reading it much. I can see how it would probably work much better on stage, but read as a book it didn't really do much for me.If I ever get the opportunity to see it on stage I probably will, and I'll be prepared to be pleasantly surprised at how well it can work as a play.That said, I do enjoy poems, and I found the lyrical nature of the dialogue, the rhythm and the rhyme, to be quite fun. But as a story I just didn't really appreciate it as much as I had expected.
    • 5/5
      Read it in high school. Loved it, it was funny
    • 5/5
      Perfect comedy.
    • 5/5
      Every read of this classic reveals another tongue in cheek pun. This humorous comedy of errors deals with love, romance, fairies in an enchanted forest, a traveling actors' troupe that passes itself as professional, but offers comic relief, mistaken identity, and of course parents at the crux who will not let true love have its way. Just a simple, straightforward Shakespearean tale. Enjoy!
    • 5/5
      I love sharing Shakespeare with my 5 year old. This is a very good children's version of one of my favorites. She loved it and was scolding Puck for being such a bad boy!
    • 4/5
      While I am not a huge Shakespeare fan I did find this particular play to be pretty darn good. I enjoyed the fact that there was this mix of fantasy with ideas that we can all relate to with unrequited love. It was fascinating to see how Shakespeare made fun of his own play "Romeo and Juliet" within the story as well. There is such a great woven story here that anyone that enjoys reading plays should read this. This was another book that I had to read for my Theatre course.
    • 5/5
      Nothing is funnier than the reversal of social degrees, is it?

      C'mon, the mighty Titania falls in love with a working class sod who has the head of an ass! AND his name is Bottom!

      Shakespeare, you cheeky bastard.