Set in a magical forest outside Athens, the ballet follows two pairs of young lovers who run away to escape arranged marriages and become entangled in the quarrels of the fairy king Oberon and the mischievous Puck. As spells are cast and identities confused, the forest fills with comic chaos, mistaken affections, and enchanted transformations. Eventually, the magic is undone, harmony is restored, and the lovers return to Athens, where all conflicts are resolved in a joyful celebration.

The ballet opens in Athens, where Duke Theseus prepares to marry Hippolyta. Their celebration is disrupted by Egeus, who insists that his daughter Hermia must marry Demetrius, though she loves Lysander. Hermia refuses to obey, and Theseus gives her an ultimatum: marry Demetrius or face punishment. Desperate, Hermia and Lysander flee the city into the enchanted forest, hoping to escape together.
Meanwhile, Helena, who is hopelessly in love with Demetrius, follows him as he pursues the runaway lovers.

Deep in the forest lies the realm of the fairies, ruled by Oberon and Titania, whose quarrels have shaken the natural world. Their conflict centers on a young changeling boy whom Titania refuses to give to Oberon. To humiliate her, Oberon enlists Puck, his mischievous sprite, to retrieve a magical flower whose juice causes anyone sleeping to fall in love with the first creature they see upon waking.

As the night deepens, chaos unfolds. Puck mistakenly enchants Lysander instead of Demetrius, causing Lysander to fall madly in love with Helena, leaving Hermia devastated. When Oberon realizes the error, he orders Puck to correct it — but the sprite enchants Demetrius as well, creating a rivalry as both men compete for Helena, who is convinced they are mocking her. The four lovers spiral into confusion, anger, jealousy, and heartbreak.

Meanwhile, Oberon uses the magical potion on Titania, who awakens to fall in love with a ridiculous sight: Bottom, a rustic craftsman rehearsing in the forest, whom Puck has mischievously transformed by giving him the head of a donkey. Titania, under the spell, dotes on him obsessively, surrounding him with enchanted attendants and pulling him into a dreamlike world of comic affection.

As dawn approaches, Oberon reverses Titania’s enchantment, and the two are reconciled. Puck restores order among the lovers, lifting the spells and revealing the true pairings: Hermia with Lysander, and Helena with Demetrius. Their conflicts forgotten, the couples awaken believing the strange events of the night were only dreams.

The ballet concludes back in Athens, where the lovers are united and Theseus announces a joyful triple wedding: Theseus and Hippolyta, Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius. Harmony is fully restored both in the human world and in the fairy realm. As night falls once more, Puck returns to the stage to offer his final blessing, blurring the line between dream and reality.