First published 2020
Hermia faces her father's ultimatum: marry Demetrius or face punishment. She chooses love instead, fleeing Athens with Lysander to marry in secret. Demetrius pursues them into the enchanted forest, followed by Helena, who desperately loves him despite his indifference. The fairy king Oberon watches these tangled mortal affairs unfold and decides to intervene. He commands his mischievous servant Puck to use a magical love potion to sort out the chaos. Puck's interference creates more confusion than clarity, transforming a local carpenter into a donkey-faced creature and causing the wrong people to fall madly in love. The four young Athenians find themselves in increasingly absurd romantic entanglements as fairy magic wreaks havoc on their hearts. Murray's adaptation condenses Shakespeare's beloved comedy into an hour-long performance while preserving its humor and charm. Written entirely in rhyming couplets with simplified language, this version makes the Bard's wit accessible to students and English language learners without sacrificing the story's comedic spirit.
Genres: adaptations, romance, fantasy, comedy, fairy-tale-retellings
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking, whimsical
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Athens, Enchanted Forest
Period: Midsummer
82 pages · Paperback · Alphabet Publishing