Louis de Bernières - Guest Appearance at Southwark Playhouse

“It is Sunday morning and Posh Katy sings in the bath...”

So the Gala performance of Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World begins, and for those of us on stage, and those fortunate enough to have booked tickets, it is a real privilege to hear those words spoken by their author – Louis de Bernières – in his guest appearance as Narrator.

Two days before, the cast and Louis had met for the first time. Assembled in the Southwark Playhouse, I’m sure no-one really knew what to expect. Our collective task - to ‘integrate’ Louis seamlessly into a production that we had been rehearsing for nearly a month, in just a few hours.

Six hours later (to be precise), we emerged from the darkness of the Southwark Playhouse Vaults into the London Bridge sunlight, after a surprisingly smooth and efficient rehearsal, and in no doubt that we had a great show prepared for our audiences on Gala and Press nights.

Speaking as a true fan of his novels, the opportunity to meet and chat with Louis was a real treat, and for all of us, he was able to give fascinating insights into the characters within the play. We learned that, unlike many of the older characters (now sadly dead from smoking related illnesses), many are still around, including the real Posh Katy, rumoured to be making a guest appearance in the audience one night. We also learned that Cheryl had a baby at 13, that the scene with Dave and the horse is word-for-word what happened, and that Martha the Cat used to lie on the sleeping policemen and stop cars going past!

After each performance, the seats were assembled onstage for the Question & Answer session with cast, director, producer and author. Our audience shared their various experiences of the play, some had been blindfolded, others not, and fans of Louis de Bernières were able to ask questions about the play, his previous work, filming Captain Corelli’s Mandolin and the new novel he is currently writing.

For those fans that missed out this week, worry not! Louis will be appearing on several more random evenings as guest narrator. So for a chance to be there, book your tickets now!

If that still doesn't do it for you, check out this recent four-star Time Out review!

Panny Skrivanos is performing in Louis De Bernières’s play Sunday Morning at the Centre of the World at the Southwark Playhouse until 16th April. For more information and to book tickets please click here. Follow Panny Skirvanos on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PannySkrivanos