“So long as men can breathe and eyes can see, So long lives this and this gives life to thee.” – Ουίλιαμ Σαίξπηρ
Alice Liddell Hargreaves died on November 16, 1934, but her legacy — and its inextricable link to Lewis Carroll’s classic Η Αλίκη στη χώρα των θαυμάτων tales — refuses to die. Who was the little girl that inspired Carroll to write what is possibly the greatest children’s story of all time?
John Logan, the playwright (Red) and screenwriter (Skyfall, Hugo, Sweeney Todd, The Aviator, Gladiator), has written a new fictional play about Alice that is directed by Michael Grandage and is currently playing at the Noel Coward Theatre in London. Inspired by the fact that at the opening of the Lewis Carroll exhibition in London in 1932, Alice Liddell Hargreaves met Peter Llewelyn Davies at the Bumpus bookshop, Logan wondered what the two immortal inspirations (the girl who fell down the rabbit hole and Peter Pan, the boy who refused to grow up) might have said to each other. Μετά από όλα, as Alice points out in the play, “We’re practically our own children’s department.” Και ναι, that’s quite some legacy.
In the production, Αλίκη, played by Academy Award winning actress Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love), and Peter, played by Ben Whishaw, recall their pasts, the fantastical worlds they each inhabited, the joyful and sad memories of childhood, and the personal experiences that shaped them into the people they have become today.
It’s not the first time a story about Alice Liddell Hargreaves has been inspired by the 1932 centenary of Lewis Caroll’s birth. Dreamchild, ο 1985 British drama film written by Dennis Potter and directed by Gavin Millar, begins with the elderly Alice’s arrival in New York to receive an honorary degree from Columbia University and participate in America’s centenary celebrations of the world famous author. Here too, the story depicts Alice as an 80-year-old woman reminiscing her past, although this is a somewhat darker reflection of a woman who finds herself somewhat haunted by the characters which once upon a time had entertained her.
Εν τω μεταξύ,, in just a few weeks time, Μαΐου 3, 2013, another “Wonderland in Wales” prepares to once again inspire visitors with the non-fictional story of Alice Liddell Hargreaves on Alice Day. Llandudno in Wales has a long connection to Alice Liddell Hargreaves. It was here that Alice’s father, Henry Liddell (ο οποίος ενέπνευσε το λευκό κουνέλι), η σύζυγός του Lorina, και η γκουβερνάντα Μις τσιμπήματα (που ενέπνευσε την Ντάμα Κούπα), sisters Lorina and Edith (who inspired the Lory and the Eaglet respectively), and the rest of the Liddell family gathered each summer to holiday at the family ‘s large, γοτθικό σπίτι στυλ διακοπών, που ονομάζεται Penmorfa. Πολλές διάσημες προσωπικότητες της ημέρας, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του πρωθυπουργού William Gladstone, ήρθε να τους επισκεφθούν. Καθώς η Η Αλίκη στη χώρα των θαυμάτων βιβλία έγινε πιο διάσημος, Alice Liddell also became an important celebrity in this town. Tourists visited the beautiful Llandudno resort, σε ιδανική τοποθεσία στις δυτικές ακτές της Ουαλίας, curious to learn more about the story behind one of the greatest children’s stories of all time.
A.L.I.C.E., which stands for Έναςlice μεγάλοiddell’s εγώnnovative Community Καιnterprise, continues to keep Llandudno’s connection to Alice Liddell alive and in the public domain. Εξάλλου, as Simon Burrows, one of the co-founders and organizers confirms, “It is a great excuse for a party and a jam tart.” Not content with achieving a world record for eating the most jam tarts (1,716) in a single Alice In Wonderland party last year, the organizers are hoping for a bigger audience and even more fun this time round. They have been working closely with local schools on a number of new educational initiatives while continuing to update Alice exhibitions around the town and to develop their much anticipated digital Alice e-tour. Alice Day on May 3rd has also become the annual event to celebrate the end of each Miss Alice Llandudno’s year long reign.
And so it makes me wonder… what might the original inspiration for the girl who fell down the rabbit hole 151 years ago have to say about all this?
Photos courtesy of Johan Persson.
Για περισσότερες Αλίκη άρθρα: κάντε κλικ εδώ
C. M. Rubin είναι ο συγγραφέας των δύο πολυδιαβασμένα online σειρά για την οποία έλαβε ένα 2011 Βραβείο Upton Sinclair, “Η Σφαιρική Αναζήτηση για Εκπαίδευση” και “Πώς θα μας Διαβάστε?” Είναι επίσης ο συγγραφέας του μπεστ σέλερ τρία βιβλία, Συμπεριλαμβανομένων Η Ρεάλ Αλίκη στη Χώρα των Θαυμάτων.
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