Category Archives: Culture & Tourism

“Alice’s Day” – A Wonderful time was had by all!

Posted on by Collette Knowles
Reply
  • Photo credit: Westgate Oxford
  • Photo credit: Westgate Oxford
  • Photo Credit: The Story Museum, Oxford
  • Photo credit: Westgate Oxford

We had a fantastic day performing my “Jabberwocky!” Shadow Puppet Suitcase Show for The Story Museum in Oxford on 4th of July.

I am finally getting round to posting the marvellous photos that Westgate Oxford (the performance venue) and The Story Museum took and were kindly shared with me.

We had good sized and appreciative audiences for all of the showings and lots of people enjoyed my “behind the scenes tour” which I always include as part of my act. I show people the puppets and how they are made up close and answer any questions in between the performances.

Tim kindly came with me and did the driving which made the day a lot pleasanter and less strenuous.

Kelly Codling-Bray and the other team members from the Story Museum did a marvellous job looking after us and making sure we had everything we needed. The Westgate Oxford Shopping Centre where we were hosted were also extremely helpful and welcoming and kindly supplied some of the photos above.

As it was a morning booking we still had time to take advantage of the kind offer of free tickets to visit The Story Museum itself. It was absolutely amazing and we hope to get a chance to take our kids there at some point.

A well deserved rest with a Cup of Tea and a Mad Hatter themed cupcake at The Story Museum Cafe
The Story Museum (exterior)

The whole place is a magical wonderland with different zones and environments to explore including the Whispering Wood where there is live storytelling and exhibits to let you listen to and find out about ancient stories and fairy-tales from around the world. In the Enchanted Library, we found scenes which you can enter and interact with from Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and the rabbit hole from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. There were also various precious artefacts such as the real writing desk of C.S. Lewis, and his pipe and glasses!

When we were visiting; there was also a new interactive game called Snarks and Riddles. This was great fun and was in the temporary exhibition space as part of the Alice’s Day theme.

I would definitely recommend it as a place to visit with kids (or adults) who love stories and books.

My “Jabberwocky!” suitcase show is a great choice for Halloween Events with its array of fantastical monsters. You can check out my Halloween Events page for more info.

We are going to be taking our 1 hour full show of Alice in Wonderland to Tullie Museum in Carlisle on December 22nd. Keep checking my Where You Can See Me page where I will put a link to purchase tickets as soon as they are live.

“Jabberwocky!”, Alice in Wonderland and the National Year of Reading

Posted on by Collette Knowles
Reply

Did you know that 2026 is National Year of Reading in the UK?

Next weekend I have been invited to perform “Jabberwocky!” for Alice’s Day (July 4th) by The Story Museum in Oxford. You can see more details on my WHERE YOU CAN SEE ME page.

For those who don’t know, (I only heard about it this year) Alice’s Day is celebrated every year as the day when Charles Dodgeson (AKA Lewis Carroll) first told the story of Alice’s Adventures to Alice Liddell and her sisters while rowing down the river on a “… Golden Afternoon”. This is the poem he wrote which you find in the beginning of many copies of the book where he describes the occasion of first inventing the story to entertain the girls:

All In the Golden Afternoon

ALL in the golden afternoon
Full leisurely we glide;
For both our oars, with little skill,
By little arms are plied,
While little hands make vain pretence
Our wanderings to guide.

Ah, cruel Three! In such an hour,
Beneath such dreamy weather,
To beg a tale of breath too weak
To stir the tiniest feather!
Yet what can one poor voice avail
Against three tongues together?

Imperious Prima flashes forth
Her edict ‘to begin it’ –
In gentler tone Secunda hopes
‘There will be nonsense in it!’ –
While Tertia interrupts the tale
Not more than once a minute.

Anon, to sudden silence won,
In fancy they pursue
The dream-child moving through a land
Of wonders wild and new,
In friendly chat with bird or beast –
And half believe it true.

And ever, as the story drained
The wells of fancy dry,
And faintly strove that weary one
To put the subject by,
“The rest next time -” “It is next time!”
The happy voices cry.

Thus grew the tale of Wonderland:
Thus slowly, one by one,
Its quaint events were hammered out –
And now the tale is done,
And home we steer, a merry crew,
Beneath the setting sun.

Alice! a childish story take,
And with a gentle hand
Lay it where Childhood’s dreams are twined
In Memory’s mystic band,
Like pilgrim’s wither’d wreath of flowers
Pluck’d in a far-off land.

So, I’m looking forward to visiting Oxford, the place of origin of Alice in Wonderland and “Jabberwocky” (originally a poem that is part of the sequel book that Carroll wrote: Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There). I am not sure how many times in my life I have visited Oxford, but not very many, so it is very exciting. I have admired the area from afar many times as part of the settings for the “Morse” TV series, (a long time favourite show of my Mum’s).

We have also now refurbished and rehearsed our long time favourite 1 hour long indoor show of Alice in Wonderland so this show is now ready to go to anywhere that would like to book it. We have performed this show in schools, libraries and studio size spaces in theatres previously. You can CLICK HERE to visit the show page to find out more about the show and see if it would be suitable for your space or event.

Our two performances of “Alice in Wonderland” at Tullie House Museum in Carlisle will now be taking place just before Christmas (22nd December). I will post a link to tickets as soon as they are live, so keep your eyes peeled for that. If you have never been to the museum before it is definitely worth a visit (there are lots of interactive elements which kept my kids entertained for hours and they particularly loved the Ancient Romans section).

We first put the Alice in Wonderland show together in 2008, though I had ideas and made some of the separate elements for the show even earlier than that while I was still at University at Bretton Hall. I was never entirely happy with the execution of the roof of the White Rabbit’s house and I’m pleased to say that it is now improved both practically and aesthetically and creates a very pleasing overall effect (which you will see if you come and see the show).