CARBONDALE - McLeod Theater will play host to mayhem and farce this week when the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Theater Department presents William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

When a father threatens his daughter with an enforced marriage or death, two young lovers flee fascist Athens. The jilted groom and a love-sick maiden follow to prevent flight, and soon all are lost in the darkness of the surrounding forest. Also in the woods are the king and the queen of the fairies, who are in the middle of their own quarrel, and a group or actors who have come to rehearse a play.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight, with evening performances Friday and Saturday and a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday.

There is a special pre-show lecture at 1:30 p.m. Sunday before the matinee performance. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $6 for students and children. The production is acceptable for family audiences. For tickets to the production or for tickets for the SIUC Theater Department's four-show subscription series, which are still available, call the box office at 453-3001. The box office is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5:30 p.m. and one hour before each performance.

- The Southern