To mark Shakespeare’s birthday and World Book Day, classes 6 to 10 at Aravali displayed their distillation in specified numbers of characters of plot summaries of Shakespeare’s plays and events in his life, as well as their impressions of favourite short stories. Class 10 students selected famous lines from Shakespeare’s plays and spoke them out aloud during the short break at the quadrangle, as children running about during the recess stopped to watch and wonder at the sudden ‘performances’ that had begun without warning. Like true actors, the speakers contended with a mix of interested and uninterested members of the audience, and with decibel levels to rise above them and earn attention and applause.