Shakespeare's horniest chaos demon gets the PBS treatment — complete with ass-headed actors and fairy marital drama.
Theseus has defeated Hippolyta in battle, and now claims her as his bride. But before the nuptials begin, a pair of young lovers flee into the forest to be married, pursued by a pair of not-lovers. There, in the forest, live the fairies whose lives are in turmoil, due to the heated lovers' quarrels between their rulers, Oberon and Titania. Between the fairies, an ass's head, the lovers, a troupe of unsuspecting would-be actors, and a magic flower that can make people fall in love at first sight, it's a merry night of chaos and comedy until everything is put to rights.
Production
Stage-bound aesthetic that leans into theatrical artificiality.
Acting
Ricky Jay's Philostrate — because of course he's here.
Director
Emile Ardolino
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1985 PBS 'Great Performances' production arrived during a Shakespeare television renaissance, when American audiences got their Bard fix via broadcast rather than cinema.
Ricky Jay — legendary magician and Mamet regular — plays Philostrate, because Ardolino apparently wanted actual magic practitioners around all this fairy business.
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