A lot of musical activities were organized in the camp. There was a Ruhleben Musical Society. Ernest MacMillan was a member and he gave concerts and lectures. Together with the composer and pianist Benjamin Dale, he played piano duet versions of all Beethoven’s symphonies. The society put on a performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera "Mikado" and a pantomime version of "Cinderella". They did not have the music for the "Mikado", but someone had the libretto (the words), and four of the musicians wrote the music from what they could remember. They wrote it out for whatever instruments they had in the camp. There was also a Ruhleben Drama Society which put on productions of Shakespeare’s "Othello" and "Twelfth Night" and Oscar Wilde’s "The Importance of Being Earnest".