At the tyrannical court of Athens, pitiless dictator Theseus plans his wedding to Hippolyta, a prisoner of war, while young Hermia is sentenced to death by her own father for loving the wrong man. Meanwhile, in the town below, an amateur theatre group rehearses. And beyond Athens, in the wild woods, dark forces are stirring...

The Eleventh Doctor is portrayed by Matt Smith. Steven Moffat took over as head writer and executive producer after Russell T Davies stepped down. Julie Gardner also stepped down as executive producer and was replaced by Piers Wenger and Beth Willis.