“Finché gli uomini possono respirare e gli occhi possono vedere, Lunga vita a questo e questo ti dà vita.” – William Shakespeare
Alice Liddell Hargreaves died on November 16, 1934, ma la sua eredità — and its inextricable link to Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice nel paese delle meraviglie tales — rifiuta di morire. 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. Dopotutto, as Alice points out in the play, “We’re practically our own children’s department.” E sì, that’s quite some legacy.
In the production, Alice, 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, il 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.
Nel frattempo, in just a few weeks time, mag 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 (che ha ispirato il Bianconiglio), sua moglie Lorina, e la governante di Miss Pricks (che ha ispirato la Regina di Cuori), 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, gothic casa di vacanza in stile, che hanno chiamato Penmorfa. Molti personaggi famosi del giorno, tra cui il primo ministro William Gladstone, venuto a visitarli. Come Alice nel paese delle meraviglie libri sono diventati più famosi, Alice Liddell also became an important celebrity in this town. Tourists visited the beautiful Llandudno resort, perfettamente situato sulla sponda occidentale del Galles, 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 Lalice Liddell’s Ionnovative Community Enterprise, continues to keep Llandudno’s connection to Alice Liddell alive and in the public domain. In aggiunta, 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.
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C. M. Rubin è l'autore di due ampiamente lettura serie on-line per il quale ha ricevuto una 2011 Premio Upton Sinclair, “Il Global Ricerca per l'Educazione” e “Come faremo a Leggere?” Lei è anche l'autore di tre libri bestseller, Compreso The Real Alice in Wonderland.
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