(2005) "Whomever you choose, as long as you're happy." The final production of the BBC-TV series "ShakespeaRe-Told," directed by Ed Fraiman from Peter Bowker's script, takes place in Dream Park, an exclusive resort for engagement parties and the like, with a bar and restaurant where the waiter greets guests by saying: "Welcome to the Globe diner."

Welcoming and guiding us through this hilarious romantic adventure is Puck (Dean Lennox Kelly), the master of mirth and prince of pranks, reminding us from the outset that things are not always as they seem. Proud and powerful Oberon (Lennie James), king of the faeries, and his independent-minded queen Titania (Sharon Small), are in the midst of a feud, with her refusing to assist him in rejuvenating the affection between Theo (Bill Paterson) and Polly (Imelda Staunton), who have returned to the park 26 years after their marriage with their daughter Hermia (Zoe Tapper) for her engagement party.

As Hermia's about to publicly express her commitment to her fiancé James Demetrius (William Ash), out of the water emerges Zander (Rupert Evans) - "Stop this now!" - after having leaped a fence into the park and eluded the pursuit of two security men, Nicholas Bottom (Johnny Vegas) and Snug. With Zander's pronouncing his unconditional love for her, Hermia breaks off the engagement with James, at the same time breaking her father's heart.

As the couple secretly departs on a bicycle - "You better be worth it, buster" - only Hermia's best friend Helena (Michelle Bonnard) becomes aware of their plan to break into a vacant cottage for the night. Angry with Titania for being obstinate to his commands, Oberon tells Puck, "I'm going to find a way to teach my queen a lesson," and then orders Puck to obtain a love juice.

The faerie king (invisible to everyone else) next visits with Theo (who tries to dismiss Oberon as a hallucination) at the bar, reminding him of his own doubts a little more than a quarter of a century earlier in 1979; other patrons look askance of a man who appears to be talking to himself without a cellphone.

Despondent over the turn of events, James tells Helena, who attempts to console him ("You're fun to be around") as they search for Hermia, that words are everything, so he should have used them to say how much he loves Hermia. Meanwhile, Theo and Polly are having a falling out as she releases her pent up frustration over his sarcasm, temper, and controlling behavior.

Puck goes to work as Oberon had instructed, dripping drops of the magical eye-love-you into sleeping Zander's unlit lamps, so that when he wakes and sees Helena weeping outside the cabin (after James had repulsed her affection), he falls in love ("You have got some commitment issues," she declares in confusion) and pursues her. At the same time Oberon applies the ocular aphrodisiac into slumbering Titania's orbs; she wakes to find big-bellied Bottom, alone after Quince (Simon Day) and the others desert him, having grown a pair of donkey ears (Puck's doing) while practicing his Michael Caine impersonation in preparation for performing their entertainment at the engagement party.

To "Strangers in the Night," she opens her eyes and can't take them off the donkey-man comedian; Bottom's about to experience the fantasy of his life, including the attentions of Mustardseed and Peaseblossom. Disappointed with the confused results of Puck's performance, Oberon commands that things be set aright or else: "I will give you a midsummer night's dream where the moon don't shine."

Both James and Zander fight over Helena, ignoring Hermia, while Oberon advises Theo to apologize and make love to Polly. Experiencing his own change of heart, Oberon requests that Puck repair all relationships ("Love Potion #9") and end Titania's humiliation, returning Bottom to the way he had been: "Make him think he had a dream."

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