Alice in Wonderland will be the focus of not one but two college balls this summer as both Exeter and Pembroke Colleges have come up with strikingly similar themes.
Exeter College’s “A Night in Alice in Wonderland” promises a “journey of mystique and intrigue” and is sounding remarkably similar to Pembroke’s “Through the Looking Glass,” which invites ball-goers to “trace Alice’s footsteps through the fantasy realm of Wonderland.”
Both Balls list smoking with the Giant Caterpillar, drinking with the Mad Hatter and a silent disco as among the attractions.
Each college’s Ball President was keen to emphasise the differences between the two.
“Our Ball is £30 cheaper,” said Exeter Ball President Emily Ball. “We’ve got dodgems, they don’t. We have a jazz band, they don’t. We’ve got a hog roast, donuts, amazing DJs. And we’re almost half sold out already.”
She also claimed that Exeter was not responsible for the mix-up. “It’s actually their fault. We published the theme on our website in June, so they should have known.”
James Finch, the President of Pembroke’s Ball, responded by suggesting that his college got there first. “We submitted the theme before they did. They claim to have put a message on their website, in a format that was not overly clear, but in the end we decided just to go ahead and compete on a slightly different level.”
“Their’s is a bit more low budget,” he continued. “We’re trying to focus more on the entertainment side of things, more on the quantity and quality of food and drink. On our scale and budget, the theme is going to be all out.”
But he was keen to emphasise that “there was no suggestion that either of us had copied it off each other.”
Other students identified further differences. David Thomas, a first year PPEist at Exeter, said that his college’s ball was “going to be better because it’s cheaper,” and pointed out that the two balls were not based on exactly the same story. “They’re different novels,” he said, “and we’re going for completely different audiences.”
“It’s not about the theme, it’s about the fact that ours is a more accessible ball if you want to go to one outside of your own college. We’re the only £50 ball in Oxford.”
But Etiene Ekpo-Utip, a Pembroke student, said that he was “kind of annoyed” by the theme clash. “It’s going to take the focus off Pembroke. We’re known as more of a party college than Exeter, and it’s a bit unnecessary to be honest.”
Nevertheless, he denied there was any anxiety, “at Pembroke we’re not worried because we’ve got way more attractions than Exeter.”
He also expressed his optimism for the event, “we’re just bloody excited about it.”
