That was where I found my most durable souvenir from the trip: a T-shirt with a cartoon illustration of Justin Bieber and William Shakespeare together, smiling. “Bill and Biebs,” it reads. In a sense, the shirt captures the modern-day essence of the small town that was about eight miles behind us — its un-slick marketing wins you over. My conversion didn’t end with Stratford itself. I had arrived there a serious Shakespeare enthusiast and not so much a Justin Bieber fan. After I left, I bought his new album.