A Midsummer Night's Dream, not attempting to make modern sense of the language or the action, instead revelling in illusion and teasing the viewer with multi-layered otherworldlmess.
The plot revolves around fairy king Oberon (Jennings) and his queen Titania (Duncan), whose squabbling results in Oberon and his servant Puck (Lynch) playing a rather mean trick on Titania. They also involve various mortals ignorant of their existence, resulting in much bewilderment and misery.
In Noble's film, all are elements of a small boy's dream, acting on the stage of his toy theatre. To those now accustomed to modern interpretations of Shakespeare, the abandonment of realism may come as something of a rude shock, but it is entirely deliberate and wonderfully successful.
The film is precisely what its title suggests a dream, a fantasy, with all the illogical and bizarre effects recognisable to anyone who has eaten strong cheese just before bedtime. It is drama at its most magical; funny yet sinister, dark and colourful, mystical and downright bawdy.