Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World

Louis de Bernières is an award-winning author best known for his novel Captain Corelli’s Mandolin which was shortlisted for the Sunday Express Book of the Year in 1994 and won the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best Book in 1995. In 2008 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts by De Montfort University.

Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World is Louis de Bernières’ only play. Written as a ‘play for voices’ in 1999, it was originally broadcast by BBC Radio Three. Influenced by Dylan Thomas' seminal piece Under Milk Wood, it is homage to a period of Louis de Bernières life in Earlsfield, South London and has never been performed live by a professional cast.

This unique production by Bad Physics will be a 60-minute sensory experience featuring a cast of eight. Blindfolded for the duration of the piece, half of the audience will choose to experience the play not only through hearing the dialogue, but also through the exhilaration of live sound effects, smells and touch. The rest of the audience will watch this played out in front of them as a performance within a performance, witnessing the effects created as well as the reactions of the audience experiencing them.

Louis de Bernières is affiliated with the project and will appear in some performances as a surprise guest narrator. More information about special gala performances featuring Louis de Bernières will be announced soon.