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X-WR-CALNAME:The Oscar Wilde Society
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for The Oscar Wilde Society
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20181019T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20181019T220000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142129Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3405-1539975600-1539986400@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Annual Birthday Dinner (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:7 pm Smoking Room for Reception Drinks\nfollowed by\nDinner at 7:30 pm in the Lady Violet Room \n  \nUnfortunately\, our guest and after-dinner speaker for the evening\, Dominic Dromgoole\, has informed us that he will not be able to speak to us after the meal. This is disappointing news. But we are extremely happy to be able to announce that Matthew Sturgis\, the author of the latest and much awaited biography of Oscar Wilde (Oscar: A Life) is able to be our guest that evening and tell us about his book and his insights into Wilde’s life. We are certain that this will make it a very pleasant and informative evening for us all. \nWe are sorry that we have had to make changes at this late stage but we hope you understand that it was beyond our control. If you have booked already and this change makes you wish to cancel then please contact Geoff Dibb. \nThe dinner includes drinks as well. When booking\, please indicate if you require a vegetarian meal or have any other dietary requirements. \nPayment is preferred by PayPal to membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk\, or by cheque made to (The Oscar Wilde Society) to Geoff Dibb at: 29 Oxford Road\, St John’s\, Wakefield\, West Yorkshire WF1 3LB.\nIf paying by Paypal\, please inform Geoff. If you have any questions\, also send them to him. \nThe private dining room has limited space\, so places will be allocated strictly in order or payment. In order to finalise details with the National Liberal Club the last date to book a place is 4th of October.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/annual-birthday-dinner-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20180906T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20180906T210000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142128Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3404-1536260400-1536267600@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Annual General Meeting (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:Save the date. More information will be posted soon.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/annual-general-meeting-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20180721T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20180721T170000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142127Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3403-1532174400-1532192400@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Annual Summer Lunch at Magdalen College (Members & their guests)
DESCRIPTION:12:15 pm for Pimms or fruit juice in the Chaplain’s Quad\nfollowed by\nLunch at 13:00 in the New Rooms \nLunch will be followed by a talk by Dr Anne Anderson: Inventing Oscar: George Du Maurier and Oscar Wilde. \nUpon noticing Wilde and Du Maurier\, at an exhibition of his works\, Whistler is said to have quipped: ‘Which of you two discovered the other?’\n‘We have both discovered you’\, was Wilde’s retort. Du Maurier certainly referenced both Whistler and Wilde in his cartoons\, through Maudle the painter and Jellaby Postlethewaite the poet. Conversely it has been suggested Wilde based his aesthetic persona on Du Maurier’s caricatures. But when did Du Maurier discover Wilde? Although Wilde’s features disappear just as suddenly as Maudle and Postlethwaite from the pages of Punch\, the prose vitroil reaches a peak with his American tour. Mr Punch certainly ‘discovered’ that Wilde made a good copy. \nIn order to keep costs down and responding to members’ comments\, the lunch will have two pricings: \n\n£66 per person with fruit juice in the Quad and table water with the meal\nOR £76 per person with Pimms in the Quad and wine with the lunch\n\nPlease note: drinks are not available to by on the day at Magdalen. \nWhen booking\, please indicate which pricing you want and please say if you require a vegetarian meal or have any other dietary requirements. \nThe private dining room has limited space\, so place will be allocated strictly in order of payment. In order to finalise details with Magdalen the last date to book a place is 5 July. \nPayment is preferred by PayPal to membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk\, or by cheque made to (The Oscar Wilde Society) to Geoff Dibb at: 29 Oxford Road\, St John’s\, Wakefield\, West Yorkshire WF1 3LB.\nIf paying by Paypal\, please inform Geoff. If you have any questions\, also send them to him. \n  \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/annual-summer-lunch-at-magdalen-college-members-their-guests/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20180525T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20180525T210000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3402-1527276600-1527282000@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Oscar's People: A Conversation Piece (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:Portraits of three Wilde confederates: James McNeil Whistler\, Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree\, George Bernard Shaw with Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde \nNeil Titely is familiar to many in the society for his Oscar Wilde one-man show ‘Work is the Curse of the Drinking Classes’ as well as his book The Oscar Wilde World of Gossip and his blog detailing the trials and adventures of touring around the world being Oscar. \nNeil has written a new conversation piece\, set in a Parisian cafe. which imagines Oscar Wilde in conversation with Whistler\, Shaw and Beerbohm Tree. \nSince the CAA is a private club\, Neil is not able to sell tickets in advance\, but suggests a donation of £10 per person\, on the night\, to cover the costs. Attendance will be by prior booking only as seating is limited. Please email Vanessa to book a place. \nWe expect this to be a popular event\, with member of the Shaw and Whistler societies also invited\, so you will receive a confirmation if you have a place. We have been unable to locate the Tree Society.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/oscars-people-a-conversation-piece-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20180416T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20180417T193000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142129Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3406-1523907000-1523993400@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Fanny and Stella Musical
DESCRIPTION:Trial of the century. Society outraged. Men dressed as ladies. Or the other way round? Hard to tell these days. These days being 1870. \nAn explosive new musical retelling of the scandal that rocked the Victorian era\, and the two young hell-raisers at the centre of it all. \nFanny and Stella’s legal case (1870-1871) was a significant forerunner to Wilde’s; in fact the legislation that convicted Wilde (Labby’s Amendment) stemmed in part from Fanny and Stella’s controversial acquittal. Coincidentally\, they were defended by Mr George Lewis\, who went on to defend Queensberry against Wilde. Whatever the legal connections\, Wilde was certainly aware of Fanny and Stella\, having read about them in The Sins of the Cities of the Plain (1881). There is even a chance that he met and was influenced by them in his writing. In his book Fanny and Stella\, the academic historian Neil McKenna hypothesis that Stella\, one of whose aliases was Cecil Graham\, may have influenced Wilde’s character of the same name in Lady Windermere’s Fan. \n  \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/fanny-and-stella-musical/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20171013T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20171013T220000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3399-1507921200-1507932000@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Birthday Dinner at The National Liberal Club (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:Drinks at 7 pm in the Smoking Room for a 7:45 dinner in the Lady Violet Room.  \nThe National Liberal Club is a wonderful venue and a place visited by Wilde himself when he dined here\, as you can\, too. \nOur guest speaker will be Dr Rebecca N. Mitchell\, Senior Lecturer of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Birmingham.  Rebecca is currently co-editing Wilde’s Unpublished\, Incomplete\, and Miscellaneous Works for the Oxford English Text edition of the Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. \nRebecca will outline the issues which arise in the editorship of Wilde’s Complete Works and speak on ‘Editing Oscar Wilde: Tales of the Oral Tales.’ Wilde’s oral stories pose particular editorial challenges and their varied publications involve a curious cast of characters. \nIn addition to scholarship on Oscar Wilde\, Rebecca has published widely on Victorian realism\, print culture\, and fashion. Her most recent books include Fashioning the Victorians\, (Bloomsbury\, forthcoming)\, Drawing on the Victorians: The Palimpsest of Victorian and Neo-Victorian Graphic Texts (co-edited with Anna Maria Jones\, Ohio UP\, 2016) and Oscar Wilde’s Chatterton: Literary History\, Romanticism\, and the Art of Forgery (co-authored with Joseph Bristow\, Yale UP\, 2015). \nFuller details of the Birthday Dinner will be included in the next Intentions. However\, if Members would wish to place an early deposit to safeguard a place at this wonderful evening\, a payment of £15 would suffice. Payment if preferred by PayPal to membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk\, OR by cheque (made to The Oscar Wilde Society) to Geoff Dibb at 29 Oxford Road\, St John’s\, Wakefield\, West Yorkshire WF1 3LB. If you make a payment\, please make it clear that it is for the Birthday Dinner. \nAny questions\, please contact Geoff at gdibb@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/birthday-dinner-at-the-national-liberal-club-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20170916T151500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20170916T180000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3401-1505574900-1505584800@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Gyles Brandreth in Hamlet at the Park Theatre
DESCRIPTION:In conjunction with our President\, Gyles Brandreth and the Park Theatre\, the Oscar Wilde Society is pleased to offer our members tickets for Hamlet at a specially reduced price for the matinee performance on Saturday 16th September. This ticket will also include a post performance discussion with the cast about the play and Oscar Wilde.\nApproximately Right Productions in association with Park Theatre presents \nHamlet\nBy William Shakespeare \nDirected by Simon Evans & David Aula\nScript edited by Imogen Bond\nCast includes: Benet Brandreth\, Gyles Brandreth and Kosha Engler \nDirected by Simon Evans (Arturo Ui Donmar Warehouse\, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Southwark Playhouse\, The Dazzle and Bug Found 111)\, this is Hamlet stripped to its core and played by three members of one family: Gyles Brandreth\, Benet Brandreth\, Kosha Engler – father\, son and wife. A family gathering\, haunted\, claustrophobic\, intense. \nWith a running time of 90 minutes\, this Hamlet blasts through our expectations of a familiar text offering a unique take on Shakespeare’s most famous play\, performed by a unique cast. \nBOOKING TICKETS \nTo receive the discounted tickets for the matinee (3:15 pm) on 16th September OWS members must quote the promotional code when booking (Members can get their promocode by emailing Geoff Dibb). This has been set up for 16 Sept matinee (only) for £15 tickets. \nThe Park Theatre advises that people book on the website and put the promocode in when they go to the payment section. Tickets can also be book over the phone but it will incur a small charge. Alternatively people can book in person but will need to quote the discount code. \nThe box office (open 10-6 Mon – Sat) telephone number is: 0207 870 6876
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/gyles-brandreth-in-hamlet-at-the-park-theatre/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20170912T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20170912T210000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142110Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132904Z
UID:3398-1505242800-1505250000@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:OSCAR WILDE SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
DESCRIPTION:This will take place at the CAA in Bedford Street. \nFurther details to follow in 2017.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/oscar-wilde-society-annual-general-meeting/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20170819
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20170820
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3400-1503100800-1503187199@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Clandestination (ARENA - Reading)
DESCRIPTION:Running in July and August\, ARENA will celebrate the best work of Reading’s arts and cultural organisations through a diverse programme of free outdoor events\, taking as their theme for 2017 – Reading’s waterways. \nARENA launched in 2016 as part of Reading’s Year of Culture and is funded by Reading Business Improvement District to enable local arts groups to bring their talent and creativity to the town centre. The programme of free events complements many of the town centre’s annual showpieces such as Waterfest and Eat Reading. \nAnnual Day Dream Harvest will bring giants of Reading’s cultural heritage to Broad Street as puppets alongside a fictitious paddle steamer. Oscar Wilde\, Arabella Fermour and Jane Austen will take the form of giant mobile puppets\, each containing a secret destination.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/clandestination-arena-reading/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20170722T121500
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20170722T150000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3397-1500725700-1500735600@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Summer Lunch at Magdalen College (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:We will start at 12:15 pm with Pimms or fruit juice in The Chaplain’s Quad followed by lunch at 13:00 in the New Room at Magdalen College\, Oxford OX1 4AU. \nThe private dining room has limited space\, so places will be allocated strictly in order of payment. In order to finalise details with Magdalen the last date to book a place is 22 June. \nPayment if preferred by PayPal to membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk\, or by cheque (made to The Oscar Wilde Society) to Geoff Dibb at 29 Oxford Road\, St John’s\, Wakefield\, West Yorkshire WF1 3LB. \nPlease make the payment of £76 or £66 (depending on your meal option)\, and book your place by filling the form. [Some Members have already paid a £15 per person deposit for this event\, so their pricings would be £61 and £51 respectively.] \nError: Contact form not found. \nFollowing our lunch\, we will have guest speaker: Clare Barlow\, Tate Gallery\, Curator of Tate Britain’s Queer British Art 1861-1967 exhibition. \nClare will speak about the framework of the exhibition\, particularly touching upon the issues faced by Wilde and his circle and the telling of their stories in the show. \nPortrait of Oscar Wilde by Harper Pennington (AP photo)\nThe full length portrait of Oscar Wilde by Harper Pennington\, owned by Wilde himself\, is exhibited in the UK for the first time as part of this exhibition. Wilde was declared bankrupt whilst awaiting trial for ‘gross indecency’ and was forced to sell the work to pay his legal fees. It has since been held in an American collection for almost a century. Tate Britain’s exhibition will show the painting alongside the prison cell door behind which Wilde was incarcerated in Reading Gaol. \nAlex Farquharson\, Director\, Tate Britain\, said: ‘It’s wonderful to be displaying this important portrait of Oscar Wilde for the first time in Britain. It’s an extraordinary image of Wilde on the brink of fame\, before imprisonment destroyed his health and reputation. Viewing it next to the door of his gaol cell will be a powerful experience that captures the triumph and tragedy of his career.’ \nThe curator of the exhibition\, Clare Barlow\, said: ‘The six foot oil painting depicts him as a slender 27-yearold on the cusp of success. His stance is confident\, holding a pair of gloves in one hand while the other clasps a silver-topped cane. It presents a different\, more sombre image to the one we are more familiar with’. \nAny questions\, please contact Geoff.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/summer-lunch-at-magdalen-college-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20161124T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20161124T220000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3394-1480015800-1480024800@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Oscar Wilde Society and Whistler Society Joint Event (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted that the two societies have agreed the following programme for the evening: \n7:30 pm Talk by Mr David Le Lay\, Chairman of The Whistler Society.\n7:45 pm Talk by Mr Don Mead\, Chairman of The Oscar Wilde Society.\n8:00 pm Q & A followed by a short interval.\n8:30 pm Extracts from the Trials of Whistler and Wilde performed by actors under cross examination by a former member of the Judiciary.\n9:30 pm Conclusion \nThe cost of the event is £10 per head to include a glass of wine or soft drink.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/oscar-wilde-society-and-whistler-society-joint-event-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20161027T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20161027T210000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3396-1477594800-1477602000@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw (a talk)
DESCRIPTION:Eleanor Fitzsimons\, author of ‘Wilde’s Women’ will be speaking to The Shaw Society about links between Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw on the evening of Thursday 27th October at The Conway Hall\, in the Bertrand Russell room.  The meeting is at 7pm for a 7.30pm start. The talk should last for 30-45 minutes and we are promised a lively Q&A session afterwards.  \nThe Shaw Society is keen that members of the Oscar Wilde Society have the opportunity to attend and has offered to admit OWS members for the Shaw Society member charge of £3 instead of the usual non-member charge of £5.   \nWe look forward to seeing as many Oscar Wilde Society members as possible\, and will undoubtably manage a jolly drink afterwards somewhere nearby.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/oscar-wilde-and-george-bernard-shaw-a-talk/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20161007T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20161007T223000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3384-1475866800-1475879400@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Birthday Dinner (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:OUR annual Birthday Dinners have always been particularly popular and considered to be one of the highlights of the Society year. They are held on an evening near Oscar Wilde’s Birthday (16 October) at the National Liberal Club. \nAt the most recent Dinner\, on 16 October 2015\, the Chairman\, Don Mead\, announced the appointment of Gyles Brandreth as Hon President. We commemorated our twenty-fifth anniversary and published Don’s lavishly illustrated Anniversary Booklet which gives a short history of the Society and describes some of its most memorable events. \nMemorable occasions in previous years have included include Anthony Holden speaking on The Portrait of Mr W.H. in 1996; inimitable talks by Sir Donald Sinden recalling his experience of playing Wilde in Diversions and Delights and speaking of his affectionate memories of Bosie Douglas; Sir John Mortimer on Wilde’s Socialism; and an evening with Stephen Fry playing gracefully with ideas at the Garrick Club in 2006. \nMerlin Holland was our speaker at the Dinner at the National Liberal Club in October 2012. He gave us something of a preview of his forthcoming book After Oscar which will tell the story of Wilde’s ‘afterlife’ and the reverberations of the scandal for decades since his death. \nAt the 2014 Birthday Dinner Matthew Sturgis\, whose subject was ‘On Being Wilde’s Biographer’\, sprang a surprise on us. By searching the autobiographies of minor characters of the period he had found a variety of anecdotes about Wilde of varying degrees of plausibility. He asked us to vote on each of them: true or fiction? The scores were duly noted and may or may not have helped Matthew determine their value. \nThis year our speaker will be Dr Rebecca N. Mitchell\, Senior Lecturer of Victorian Literature and Culture at the University of Bergminham. Rebecca is currently co-editing Wilde’s Unpublished\, Incomplete\, and Miscallaneous Works for the Oxford English Text edition of The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde. \nRebecca will outline the issues which arise in the editorship of Wilde’s Complete Works and speak on ‘Editing Oscar Wilde: Tales of the Oral Tales’. Wilde’s oral stories pose particular editorial challenges and their varied publications involve a curious cast of characters. \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/birthday-dinner-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20160924T093000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20160924T163000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T140314Z
UID:3393-1474709400-1474734600@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Visit to Ellen Terry's House\, Smallhythe Place (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:As Eleanor Fitzsimons wrote in her book Wilde’s Women: how Oscar Wilde was shaped by the women he knew: ‘Irving’s leading lady\, the magnificent Ellen Terry\, was described by Oscar as ‘the kindest-hearted\, sweetest\, loveliest of women’. The house she lived in for 29 years\, and which she loved\, was turned by her daughter Edy into a museum where her theatrical treasures and relics would be kept on display.\nThe Oscar Wilde Society is proud to organise an exciting visit to Ellen Terry’s house for its members. \nHere is the program for the day:\n09.30 am Depart London by bus from Temple Underground station\n10.45 am Arrive at Ellen Terry’s House\, Smallhythe Place\n10:50 am Welcome and Guide Talk by a member of National Trust\n11:15 am Talk on Ellen Terry and Oscar Wilde by Eleanor Fitzsimons\n11:40 am – 1:15 pm Visit the Ellen Terry House\n2.00 pm Visit the Tudor Church\n2.45 pm Visit with tour – Chapel Down Winery\n4.30 pm Bus departs for London Temple Underground station \nThe final cost will depend on the numbers attending but will certainly not be more than £40 per person. This covers the bus journey there and back\, entry to the house\, a sandwich lunch with a tea or coffee\, talk by Eleanor Fitzsimons\, and visits to the Tudor Church and the Chapel Down Winery. \n \nWe encourage members and their guests to reserve their places as soon as possible. We ask for a deposit of £15.00. There will be deductions for those members who are already National Trust members\, and/or for those who do not wish to have the sandwich lunch there. Places will be allocated on a first come first served and are limited to thirty. \nPlease book your place by paying the deposit requested per person via PayPal to: membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk\, then by filling the booking form below. \nError: Contact form not found. \nThe closing date for Members’ bookings is 30 June 2016. \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/visit-ellen-terrys-house-smallhythe-place/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20160810
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20160811
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142054Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3395-1470787200-1470873599@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Brand new opera based on Oscar Wilde's The Remarkable Rocket
DESCRIPTION:Waste Paper Opera Company are writing and staging a brand new opera based on Oscar Wilde’s The Remarkable Rocket. \nWhat awaits you?\nA show master from another world; a royal wedding; a piece of Oscar Wilde that has never been seen on stage; a Catherine Wheel with a broken heart; a bullying Bengal Light; Squibs: a pompous Roman Candle; AND the most sensitive Rocket the world has ever seen. Furthermore: three hundred years of opera history; voices that will tear your heart out; a bombastic ensemble; paper thin humans and fireworks with blood in their veins; a forest full of names; and unforeseen sounds; confetti. \nWaste Paper Opera Company are currently a little bit under the amount what they need to stage the work\, so they have made a crowdfunding campaign which includes a rather absurd trailer for the opera for you to enjoy!  \nIf anyone is able to pledge just a small amount towards the opera then they will be rewarded with operatic Wildean gifts of all kinds. But alternatively if you’ve an interest in the project then any help with exposure would be ever so welcome.  \nhttp://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/the-remarkable-rocket-an-opera/
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/brand-new-opera-based-on-oscar-wildes-the-remarkable-rocket/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20160723T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20160723T170000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3385-1469275200-1469293200@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Summer lunch at Magdalen College with tour of the Old Library and the Archives (Members Only)
DESCRIPTION:This ever-popular event in the Society’s calendar will start\, as usual\, with Pimm’s served in Chaplain’s Quadrangle and a recital of ‘Magdalen Walks’. Our guest at lunch will be Ben Taylor\, who will conduct a tour. It is many years since we visited the Archives and the last time we visited the Old Library was in 2011. Ben tells us that the exhibits will include the window from Oscar’s rooms on which he scratched a drawing of ‘Little Mr Bouncer’ (his friend William ‘Bouncer’ Ward) with a diamond. For many years this was thought to have been smashed in the course of some college festivities and lost but the jagged broken pane with the drawing was rediscovered in 2003 in a mouldering package in Magdalen’s Works Department. \nWe shall also see the Oxford Diary of Florence Ward\, ‘Bouncer’ Ward’s seventeen year-old sister. With a sharp eye for social comedy she kept a detailed record\, illustrated with her sketches\, of the visit she made in June 1876 for Commemoration Week. \nThe cost per head for members and guests (one guest per member) is £72 which covers a glass of Pimm’s followed by a three course meal. \nWe have a limited number of places so\, as ever\, it will be ‘first come\, first served’. \nPlease pay by PayPal to: membership@oscarwildesociety.co.uk noting ‘Magdalen lunch’ in the message box. \nOr send a cheque\, payable to the Oscar Wilde Society\, to Silvia Melchior\, Events Secretary. \nPlease indicate whether you would like to have the vegetarian option. \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/summer-lunch-at-magdalen-college-with-tour-of-the-old-library-and-the-archives-members-only/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20160621
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20160626
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3392-1466467200-1466899199@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Lady Windermere's Fan
DESCRIPTION:‘We are all in the gutter\, but some of us are looking at the stars.’ \nThe Putney Theatre Company’s production of Lady Windermere’s Fan\, is opening next month at Putney Arts Theatre in South West London. \nWhen Lady Windermere comes to believe her husband is having an affair with the notorious Mrs Erlynne\, she makes a decision that has dramatic repercussions for everyone involved. Produced on the London stage in 1892\, Lady Windermere’s Fan was Oscar Wilde’s first great success and launched the playwright high into the London society his work so bitingly satirises. A sparkling comedy of manners with a compelling moral dilemma at its heart\, it contains many of the playwright’s most famous lines.  \nStylish\, gripping and wonderfully witty\, Lady Windermere’s Fan is both a glorious entertainment and a fascinating comment on what it truly means to be good. A ‘must see’\, from one of our greatest dramatists\, and the most celebrated and notorious personality of his\, and possibly even our own\, time.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/lady-windermeres-fan/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20160601
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20160619
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3391-1464739200-1466294399@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Stella\, by Neil Bartlett
DESCRIPTION:A new theatre piece written and directed by Neil Bartlett. Alone in a silent room\, a man waits for a knock on his door. As the minutes tick by\, he remembers a life filled with daring and laughter\, with parties and heartbreak – a life spent searching for the courage to be truly himself. Inspired by the true story of the scandalous life and lovely death of Ernest Boulton – better known as one half of the now infamous Victorian cross-dressing double-act Fanny and Stella – Stella is a theatrical love-letter to a truly remarkable person and a timely meditation on the dangerous art of living in the present. \nRecommended listening\n \nOn 17 May\, on BBC Radio 3 in the programme ‘Free Thinking: Transformations’\, there was a particularly interesting discussion between Matthew Sweet and Neil Bartlett about his play. \nIt may be heard on iPlayer Radio at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07b2j24 \n“… What was Stella? Was she a drag queen? Was she a proto trans-person? Or was she a plain old sodomite? I will often say that she was all three of those in the course of a single evening . …” \n 
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/stella-by-neil-bartlett/
CATEGORIES:Other Events of Interest
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20160529T150000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20160529T170000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142037Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3390-1464534000-1464541200@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Unveiling of OSCANCE Memorial
DESCRIPTION:OSCANCE memorial will be unveiled by Merlin Holland at St. James’s Church\, Paddington on the exact 132nd anniversary of the wedding of Oscar and Constance on Sunday 29 May 1884. \nOscar Wilde Society members and their guests will all be most welcome. Christopher Cook will first interview Thomas Sargeant (letter-cutter) about his work on the Memorial. He will then discuss with Franny Moyle the period before and immediately after the wedding from Constance’s point of view\, and ask Merlin Holland about Oscar and the wedding. \nNext\, he will invite Merlin Holland to unveil the memorial plaque\, after which there will be a reception\, with wine and nibbles\, and the traditional OSCANCE Toast\, ‘Oscar and Constance’\, proposed by Jonathan Fryer. \nThe OSCANCE memorial plaque\, designed by Tom Sargeant\, is a Welsh slate roundel with Portland stone surround\, with incised and gilded lettering. The cost of executing of the design was met from a fund established by the Supporters – The Church of St James\, Paddington\, The Oscar Wilde Society\, and The Hyde Park Ward Budget – and by the generosity of individual sponsors including Patrons and a number of individual members of the Oscar Wilde Society. \nHere is a full report of the event.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/unveiling-of-oscance-memorial/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20151114T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20151114T150000
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142032Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3386-1447502400-1447513200@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Author's lunch
DESCRIPTION:THE author’s lunch is a feature of our programme of events. Members have been treated to post-prandial talks by the authors of many of the important books about Wilde and his milieu when they are first published. \nThe most recent lunch to mark the publication of a new book was on 14 November 2015 to celebrate the publication of Eleanor Fitzsimons’ new book on the women in Wilde’s life: Wilde’s Women. This enthralling and sympathetic biography illuminates extremely well the circles of artistic and literary women of the time. Oscar may have achieved notoriety for ‘living for sin’\, but the women in his life knew another man. more considerate\, more thoughtful\, perhaps less decadent one than we are used to. \nThe scope and variety of these lunches is shown by this summary taken from the Society’s Anniversary Booklet. \nOur first author’s lunch\, at the Chelsea Arts Club\, was for Julie Speedie when her biography of Ada Leverson\, Wonderful Sphinx\, was published in 1993. \nAt the next author’s lunch\, in July 1994\, also at the Chelsea Arts Club\, Joy Melville spoke with infectious enthusiasm about the subject of her book Mother of Oscar – The Life of Jane Francesca Wilde. Subsequently she and the Irish actress and director Gerardine McDermottroe presented a dramatised reading developed from her talk at a number of venues including the Pavilion Theatre\, Worthing. \nJonathan Fryer talked entertainingly and informatively about André & Oscar – Gide\, Wilde and the gay art of living at his author’s lunch in June 1997. The title was too much for his publishers in America and there it became André and Oscar: The Literary Friendship of André Gide and Oscar Wilde. \nIn March 1998 Matthew Sturgis introduced his comprehensive and authoritative biography Aubrey Beardsley. Douglas Murray at a dinner at Kettner’s in 2000 spoke on Bosie: A Biography of Lord Alfred Douglas which won the Lambda Award for Gay Biography that year. \nJonathan Fryer’s next subject was Robbie Ross – Oscar Wilde’s True Love in 2001. In 2002 Matthew Sweet gave an amusing account of his reassessment of the Victorians\, Inventing the Victorians\, and Neil Titley gave us just a taste of his feast of comic pen-portraits of Wilde’s friends and enemies: The Oscar Wilde World of Gossip. \nIn 2003 Trevor Fisher talked on his book Oscar and Bosie – A Fatal Passion\, Toni Bentley on Sisters of Salomé\, and at a crowded author’s dinner at the Garrick Club Merlin Holland introduced his important\, definitive account of Regina (Wilde) v. Queensberry\, Oscar’s first trial: Irish Peacock & Scarlet Marquess – The Real Trial of Oscar Wilde. \nIn the following year Neil McKenna spoke about The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde followed\, as is usual with these events\, by a wide-ranging question and answer session. James Nelson after the AGM that year talked on Publisher to the Decadents – Leonard Smithers. Anya Clayworth shared her understanding of the importance of Wilde’s essays and reviews in her talk on Oscar Wilde: Selected Journalism. \nIn 2006\, Antony Clayton introduced Decadent London\, and the next year Tony Stokes\, Prison Officer and archivist at Reading Prison spoke on his book Pit of Shame – The Real Ballad of Reading Gaol. \nIn May 2008 Gyles Brandreth gave us a dazzling talk on the influences which had brought him to start writing his series of Oscar Wilde murder mysteries. Then in December\, with readings by Simon Scardifield\, Thomas Wright talked on his exploration of Wilde’s personality through his reading – Oscar’s Books and\, with Don Mead\, on the Society’s first book publication Oscar Wilde – The Women of Homer. \nIn June 2011 at her author’s lunch at Greig’s Grill\, Franny Moyle read extracts from her new book Constance – The Tragic and Scandalous Life of Mrs Oscar Wilde and described how she had discovered a woman who was adventurous\, shy\, very left wing\, enquiring\, and talented\, devoted to Oscar and blind and naïve about his homosexuality. \nIn May 2013 Linda Stratmann\, introducing her new book The Marquess of Queensberry – Wilde’s Nemesis\, went some way to convincing a doubtful audience that he was a well-meaning man\, emotionally damaged by a series of tragedies and deserving our compassion. \nIn February 2014 we celebrated the launch of Geoff Dibb’s masterly and thoroughly enjoyable book Oscar Wilde\, A Vagabond With a Mission. The Story of Oscar Wilde’s Lecture Tours of Britain and Ireland published by the Society\, at a lunch at Greig’s Grill. \nThe Society has established a Memorial Fund to provide\, or assist in providing\, memorials to Oscar Wilde.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/authors-lunch/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20100319
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20100320
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3387-1268956800-1269043199@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Plaque at Langham Hotel
DESCRIPTION:On Friday 19 March 2010 Gyles Brandreth and the Deputy Mayor of Westminster unveiled a plaque on the wall of the Langham Hotel\, London. The plaque commemorates the dinner hosted by the editor of Lippincott’s Magazine\, J M Stoddart on 30 August 1889. At that dinner Stoddart commissioned The Picture of Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde and The Sign of Four from Arthur Conan Doyle. The plaque was a joint initiative of the Oscar Wilde Society\, the Sherlock Holmes Society of London and Westminster Council.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/plaque-at-langham-hotel/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:19950214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:19950215
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142037Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3389-792720000-792806399@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Poets' Corner
DESCRIPTION:In 1995\, on 14 February\, a stained glass roundel in his memory was unveiled in Poets’ Corner in Westminster Abbey\, again with a contribution from the Society. On 13 November 1995 Anne Clark Amor laid flowers – a bouquet of lilies and green carnations – below the Memorial Window to mark the centenary of Wilde’s transfer from Wandsworth Prison to Reading Gaol.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/poets-corner/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:19950101
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:19950102
DTSTAMP:20260731T063105
CREATED:20251029T142035Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260318T132903Z
UID:3388-788918400-789004799@oscarwildesociety.co.uk
SUMMARY:Plaque at Theatre Royal\, Haymarket
DESCRIPTION:In January 1995\, Sir John Gielgud and Merlin Holland unveiled a plaque beside the stage door of the Theatre Royal\, Haymarket to mark the centenary of the first night of An Ideal Husband. This was supported by the Society and by Westminster City Council.
URL:https://oscarwildesociety.co.uk/event/plaque-at-theatre-royal-haymarket/
CATEGORIES:Our Events
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END:VCALENDAR