If you want to find Lady Chatterley’s Lover, Malvern Theatres will be a fine place to start, next month

A stage version is on tour, and Malvern will be a stop.

TV regular Rupert Hill (Casualty, BBC; Coronation Street, ITV) will star alongside Phoebe Marshall (Witness for the Prosecution, London County Hall) in "a sensual new stage adaptation of D.H.Lawrence’s controversial masterpiece".

A spokesman said: "Considered sensationalist erotica when first published and banned worldwide, Lawrence’s text caused outrage not just because of the explicit language, but also because it bridged social and class divides.

"This impassioned tale of female agency and the desire to live more than a half-life changed the literary landscape of Britain."

The book was, of course, the subject of a mayor obscenity trial. As the poet Philip Larkin famously put it: "Sexual intercourse began/In nineteen sixty-three/ (which was rather late for me) -/ Between the end of the 'Chatterley' ban/ And the Beatles' first LP.".

The spokesman said: "Sixty years after the scandalous trial of the unexpurgated publication, this beautiful new production reflects the monumental changes in attitude towards female sexuality. It is also an

exploration of the scars of war and the dangers of toxic masculinity. "Above all, Lady Chatterley is a passionate and optimistic love story."

But what is it really all about?

The spokesman said: "Trapped in a sexless marriage following her husband’s disability, Connie is burdened with her female duty of care and an increasing sense of isolation.

"She instigates a physically charged love affair with the gamekeeper, Mellors, flouting expectations and obligations in the name of selflove. The book is a comment on the fragility of masculinity and the need for an honest approach to our physical life. And it’s beautiful, too."

The Malvern run will be from February 25 to February 29.

Tickets: 01684 892277.