MILLER IN WONDERLAND

A quick reminder of tomorrow night's illustrated talk by Dr Jonathan Miller, Somewhere in Wonderland devoted to his provocative 1966 TV film version of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

First broadcast on BBC television on 28 December 1966, the film went out at 9:05 in the evening because Huw Weldon, then Head of TV Programmes deemed it 'unsuitable for children'! 'Unsuitable' because being an 'adult' treatment of the children's classic, it was thought likely to bore youngsters.

This decision provoked the following cartoon by Giles in the Sunday Express...

"The old folks are at home watching Alice in Wonderland."

Among the starry cast was writer, broadcaster and TV pundit, Malcolm Muggeridge, playing the Gryphon and, writing at the time in the New Statesman, he expressed the following prophetic view:

"Alice might conceivably bore juvenile viewers of all ages, it could not possibly shock them... Alice has long been part of contemporary folklore, and Miller's version, giving it a new, significant twist, necessarily becomes a piece of social history."

And so it did and so it has remained...

The talk, after which Dr Miller will be in conversation with me about the production, has been arranged by The Lewis Carroll Society as the 10th Roger Lancelyn Green Memorial Lecture but is also open to non-members of the Society.

Dr Miller's talk will take place at 6:30 for 7:00 pm at The Art Workers' Guild, 6 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AT.

Tickets are £10 (£7.50 for Society members) and late bookers should telephone: 020 7286 0776. UPDATE: The event is now fully booked with a waiting list for cancellations.