23 June,2026 02:06 PM IST | Mumbai | Shriram Iyengar
Children perform during a musical interlude in the rehearsal
Remember the first time you had to stand up in English class and read Shakespeare? If you recall clammy hands, dry throat, and weak legs, this writer empathises. But Amy Bilimoria might still make you read it out. Teacher, and CEO of Maneckji Petit Cooper Education Trust School in Juhu, Bilimoria has devised a simpler and fun solution. Students of the school will give the Bard's verses a Beatles' twist as they perform Hey Jules in Bandra this week.
Director Amy Bilimoria guides performers during the rehearsal. Pics Courtesy/Maneckji Cooper Educational Trust School
For many years, William Shakespeare's works have been part of the ICSE curriculum for the IX and X grades. It also remains a dreaded challenge for children. "We thought it would be an innovative way to help children understand the play," shares Bilimoria, director of the play.
While the school applies activity-based learning regularly, this is the first time they are experimenting with Shakespeare and music. "Both of them [Shakespeare and The Beatles] originate from England, are icons of drama and music. So, it felt apt," she admits.
The Beatles. Pics Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons
Thus, you have Brutus singing âLet It Be' during his moment of dithering, the conspirators breaking out into âCome Together' and later âRevolution' as their plans take shape. The two-hour long performance features 21 songs from the Fab Four of Liverpool.
In September 2025, the team put the proposal to the trustees. With funds coming in from the alumni, the production began to take shape. "We picked students through auditions. Many of the children signed up because they were curious, and picked their roles - singing, dancing, or as the team," the teacher reveals.
Cast members rehearse in the foreground of an artwork of The Beatles
The cast of the play includes children from the grades VII till X. As choir member Ayana Jha, IX A, shares, "The irritation for Shakespeare language now turns into love for it. Understanding how each dialogue is well expressed and the importance of diction." Adelle Coelho from IX A, who plays the ghost of Shakespeare, reveals, "Haunting Hey Jules made me realise Shakespeare wasn't just all "thee" and "thou" - the man had jokes, and now I finally get them." Krishiv Sharma, the eponymous Caesar of the play, says, "Portraying Caesar showed me how excessive pride and arrogance contributed to his inevitable downfall."
A scene depicting Julius Caesar's assassination
"Not only the students who are acting, but all the others who have been part of the rehearsals, have imbibed the lessons of the play," Bilimoria adds, before the teacher in her quips, "The flipside of it is that they will most likely do very well in their Std X exams."
Brutus and Portia in a scene from the play, Hey Jules
The director also hopes that the play might spur a different approach to the subject. "When we showcase it to the rest of the students, as well as students from other schools, it will make an impact on them, and perhaps encourage them to read Shakespeare more," she says. As the Bard says, "Play on."
ON June 25; 7 pm
AT St Andrews Auditorium, St Dominic Road, Bandra West.
LOG ON TO in.bookmyshow.com
ENTRY Rs 800
