《仲夏夜之夢》（A Midsummer Night's Dream），是威廉·莎士比亞在約1590年創作的浪漫喜劇。
● 人物
希修斯 Theseus 雅典大公
喜波利達 Hippolyta 亞瑪宗(Amazon)女王，希修斯之未婚妻
菲勞斯特莱特 Philostrate 希修斯的侍從
伊吉斯 Egneus 赫米娅之父
拉山德 Lysander 與赫米娅是一對情侶
狄米特律斯 Demetrius 單恋赫米娅
赫米娅 Hermia 伊吉斯之女，與拉山德是一對情侶
海丽娜 Helena 奈达(Nedar)之女，赫米亞的摯友，單恋狄米特律斯
昆斯 Quince 木匠
斯纳格 Snug 细工木匠
波顿 Bottom 织工
弗鲁特 Flute 修风箱者
斯诺特 Snout 补锅匠
斯塔佛林 Starveling 裁缝
奥布朗 Oberon 仙王
提泰妮娅 Titania 仙后
帕克 Puck 又名好人儿罗宾(Robin Goodfellow)
豆花 Peaseblossom 小神仙
蛛网 Cobweb 小神仙
飛蛾 Moth 小神仙
芥子 Mustardseed 小神仙
其他侍奉仙王仙后的小仙人们 忒修斯及希波吕忒的侍从
● 劇情
注意：下文中包含记述作品情节的段落，或許會降低欣赏原作的興致。
劇情共有三個主軸，剛好都跟慶祝泰西斯公爵和希波利塔女王的婚禮有關。一開始，荷蜜亞的父親強迫要荷蜜亞嫁給迪米特立斯，當時的希臘規定家庭可以決定女兒的婚姻，而女兒必須遵守，否則就要被處死或放逐。荷蜜亞不肯，與雷山德相約晚上在森林見面並私奔。荷蜜亞將她的計劃告訴她最好的朋友海倫娜；海倫娜不久前才被迪米特立斯拒絕，為了討回迪米特立斯的歡心，因此海倫娜將這計劃告訴迪米特立斯。到了晚上，迪米特立斯跟蹤海倫娜，而海倫娜跟蹤荷蜜亞，而荷蜜亞則急於尋找雷山德，4人在森林中迷路並分離，他們累了並在樹下打盹休息。
同時，仙王奧伯龍與仙后蒂塔妮亞到達了同一片森林，並計劃參加泰西斯公爵和希波利塔女王的婚禮。蒂塔妮亞拒絕把她的印度童僕精靈借給奧伯龍當作他的僕人，所以奧伯龍決定懲戒蒂塔妮亞。奧伯龍要小精靈帕克去摘三色堇，並趁蒂塔妮亞睡覺時將三色堇花汁液滴在她的眼皮上，這樣當蒂塔妮亞醒來時便會永遠愛上她看到的第一個人。另外帕克也發現了睡覺中的雷山德等人，祂將三色堇花汁液滴在他們的眼皮上，並希望他們醒來時能有情人終成眷屬。
在同時，織工波頓和他的勞工朋友們在同一片森林中排演悲劇"皮拉摩斯和西斯貝"，他們計劃在泰西斯公爵和希波利塔女王的婚禮上表演，並把它演成滑稽的喜劇。可憐的織工波頓在換裝時，被小精靈帕克惡作劇變成驢頭。不巧仙后蒂塔妮亞醒來見到的第一個人便是他，於是仙后瘋狂的愛上了驢頭人身的波頓。森林的另一邊，雷山德和迪米特立斯醒來時見到的第一個人都是海倫娜，於是海倫娜變成兩人追求的對象，荷蜜亞則同時被兩人拋棄。雷山德和迪米特立斯為了海倫娜而決鬥，兩人在森林中迷路並在樹下打盹休息。
仙王奧伯龍見苗頭不對，於是要求小精靈帕克自己去解決自己闖下的禍。於是撲克再趁蒂塔妮亞和雷山德睡覺時，將三色堇花汁液滴在他們的眼皮上。這次蒂塔妮亞見到的第一人是奧伯龍、雷山德見到的第一人是荷蜜亞，織工波頓的驢頭法術也被解除；迪米特立斯的法術則沒有被解除，他將會與海倫娜永遠相愛。仙王則與仙后重修舊好。當早晨來臨時，情侶們和勞工們決定這一夜發生的所有不合理事情一定是一場夢。
情侶們回到雅典，荷蜜亞的父親不再堅持他的決定，因為他看到迪米特立斯改變了他的心意。情侶們快樂的參加泰西斯公爵和希波利塔女王的婚禮，三對新人同時結婚，並觀賞織工波頓和他的朋友們所表演的不是悲劇的喜劇。
——维基百科

Act I
Cinderella, a young woman whose domineering stepmother forces her to act as a servant in her own home, helps her stepmother and two stepsisters to prepare for the Spring Ball, at which it is rumoured that the Prince will choose his bride-to-be. As the two stepsisters work together to produce a new shawl, they get into an argument over who will wear it, and end up tearing it in two through their bickering. The pair storm off, while the step-mother orders Cinderella to clear up the remnants and finish her chores, as her father returns home from business. Since her father's remarriage, Cinderella has had to sleep by the kitchen fireplace, leaving her nothing to wear but rags covered in ashes. Her father has never moved past the grief of his first wife's death, and though he is concerned for his only daughter Cinderella, he is just as much under the stepmother's control as Cinderella herself is. Their brief peace is interrupted, however, as the stepmother and the two stepsisters reenter and begin ordering them about. During supper, a beggar woman turns up, asking for shelter. The two stepisters and the stepmother try to chase her off, but Cinderella offers her a place by the kitchen fire and an old pair of slippers. The beggar thanks her for her kindness and departs, leaving the preparations for the ball to resume. After choosing dresses and a quick dancing lesson, the family finally sets off for the night with the father reluctantly in tow, leaving Cinderella behind.
Although lonely at first, she cheers herself up by dancing with her broom, imagining the Prince himself has asked her for a dance. She is surprised, however, when the old beggar woman appears out of nowhere, wishing to return the slippers with her thanks. To Cinderella's amazement, the shoes have been transformed into dancing slippers of glass. The old beggar woman throws off her disguise and reveals herself as Cinderella's fairy godmother, come to grant her wish of going to the ball. Summoning the fairies of Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter for assistance, she turns Cinderella's rags into a beautiful dress, a pumpkin and mice into a carriage and horses, and grasshoppers and dragonflies into a retinue of footmen. As she is about to leave, however, the fairy godmother warns her that the magic will only last until midnight, at which time the spell will break, and everything will revert to its original form. Only the glass slippers will remain as a gift for her kindness. She then summons twelve dwarfs, who will appear to repeat her message if she has not left by midnight. With this warning in mind, Cinderella departs for the ball.
Act II
The Spring Ball is in full swing, with guests arriving from all over the kingdom and beyond to dance and pay respect to the Prince. The two stepsisters attempt to win favour with the royal court by showing off their dancing skills, but have less than successful results, much to their mother's dismay. The Prince then joins the celebrations, but finding state events such as the Spring Ball dull, and being reluctant to enter a marriage without love, he declines any offers for a dance, particularly in the case of the obnoxious step-sisters.
At this point, Cinderella arrives at the palace, transformed beyond recognition into a beautifully dressed princess. The Prince, along with everyone else, is entranced by her beauty and charm, and for the first time, he asks for a dance. As the evening passes, the two become inseparable; Cinderella quickly becomes beloved by the entire court for her graciousness and charm, while the Prince is unusually enthusiastic and cheery in her company. When refreshments are served, he gives her the honour of taking one of three oranges, a delicacy imported to the kingdom from a far-off land. Cinderella offers the other two oranges to her two stepsisters, who are so flattered by the attention that they do not recognize the beautiful stranger as their stepsister Cinderella. The Prince takes Cinderella out to the royal gardens for an evening walk, where they dance and proclaim the love blossoming between them.
As they return to the ballroom for the next waltz, Cinderella has completely forgotten about the time in her happiness. However, at the first stroke of midnight, the twelve dwarfs spring from the great palace clock and remind Cinderella of her fairy godmother's warning. Terrified of being unmasked as a lowly servant in rags, she flees from the ballroom to the astonishment of the other guests. Though the Prince pursues her, she vanishes into the night moments before the spell breaks, losing one of her glass slippers in her haste and panic. The Prince is heartbroken at the thought of losing his love so soon after discovering her, but upon finding the lost slipper, he vows not to rest until he is once again reunited with her.
Act III
The morning after the ball, the Prince summons every shoemaker in the kingdom, in order to find out who the slipper was made for. However, none of them claim to have crafted the shoe, or sold it to anybody recently, and he concludes that the princess must be from a foreign land. His desperate search brings him first to the Mediterranean, then to the Orient, and lands further beyond. After travelling across the world and meeting various beautiful princesses with no success, the Prince begins to search his own kingdom, trying the slipper on every maiden who attended the ball.
Back at Cinderella's home, love has allowed the Prince to defy the laws of time and space; though she is only awakening the morning after the ball, he has already traveled the world and back again in search of his lost love. Upon waking, Cinderella initially believes that the events of the previous night were only a dream. As she relives some of the dances of the ball, she discovers the remaining glass slipper and realizes that it was all true. At breakfast, the two stepsisters reminisce about the ball, and argue about who made the greater impression on the Prince at the ball. Their fighting is interrupted when the father and the stepmother hurry in with the news that the Prince is on his way to their house, desperately trying a glass slipper on every girl he encounters. Upon his arrival, he tries the slipper on the two stepsisters, to no avail. The stepmother, however, demands to be given a chance and tries to force her foot into the shoe, ordering Cinderella to help her. As she bends down to assist, the remaining slipper falls from her pocket and the Prince finally recognizes Cinderella for who she is. As Cinderella successfully tries on both glass slippers, her stepfamily beg for her forgiveness, which she happily bestows upon them. Overjoyed to have rediscovered each other, Cinderella and the Prince are then transported away to a secret garden by the fairy godmother, where they confess their love for one another and are happily married.

Act I: A Sacred Wood
The ballet begins with a scene of worship as creatures of the forest dance before Eros. Aminta, a lowly shepherd, stumbles in on them, disrupting their ritual. Now Sylvia, the object of Aminta's desire, arrives on the scene with her posse of hunters to mock the god of love. Aminta attempts to conceal himself, but Sylvia eventually discovers her stalker and, inflamed, turns her bow towards Eros. Aminta protects the deity and is himself wounded. Eros in turn shoots Sylvia. She is hit, and though not badly wounded, the injury is enough to drive her offstage.
A hunter, Orion, is revealed to also have been watching Sylvia, when he is seen celebrating the unconscious Aminta. Orion conceals himself again as Sylvia returns; this time she is sympathetic towards Aminta. As the huntress laments over her victim, she is kidnapped by Orion and carried off. Peasants grieve over Aminta's figure until a cloaked Eros revives the shepherd. Eros reveals his true identity and informs Aminta of Orion's actions.
Act II: Orion's Island Cave
Captive in Orion's island hideout, Sylvia is tempted by him with jewels and wine to no avail. Sylvia now grieves over Aminta, cherishing the arrow pulled from her breast nostalgically. When Orion steals it from her, Sylvia gets her captor drunk until he is unconscious, whereby she retrieves her arrow and appeals to Eros for help. Sylvia's invocations are not in vain, for Eros quickly arrives and shows his summoner a vision of Aminta waiting for her. The duo depart for the temple of Diana, where Sylvia's love awaits.
Act III: The Sea Coast near the Temple of Diana
Aminta arrives at the temple of Diana to find a bacchanal but no Sylvia, who will soon arrive with Eros. After a few moments of mirth at the reunion, Orion shows up, seeking Sylvia. He and Aminta fight; Sylvia barricades herself in Diana's shrine and Orion attempts to follow. The goddess of the hunt, outraged at this act, smites Orion and denies Aminta and Sylvia congress. Compassionate Eros gives Diana a vision. The goddess reminisces over her own young love of Endymion, also a shepherd. Diana has a change of heart and repeals her decree. Aminta and Sylvia come together under the deities' good will.

Ashton's Cinderella is his own realised dream of a Petipa ballet and the ballet itself enacts the realisation of dreams, notably Cinderella's own. When we first see her she is a demi-caractere dancer dreaming of being a ballerina — that seems to be the balletic point of her solo with the broomstick in the kitchen – and it is as a ballerina that she magically enters the ballroom, stepping en pointe down the stairs and advancing in pas de bourree to the front of the stage. Back in the kitchen she recalls the slipper (or rather the pointe shoe) that she carries in her apron; the shoe is the clue to her dream and persuades her it was true. The Prince finds Cinderella, but in his arms she discovers her own identity as a ballerina: her dream of herself has been realised.