Erotic classic Lady Chatterley's Lover comes to the Kings Theatre, Southsea with Coronation Street star Rupert Hill

Lady Chatterley’s Lover, initially published in 1928, went on to sell more than 3m copies and is regarded as a classic – examining love and lust across the social divide

When Clifford Chatterley returns from the war a wounded hero, his young bride Connie does her best to care for him. Neglected and alone, she instigates a love affair with the gamekeeper, Mellors, a relationship that bridges the social divide and challenges convention, risking great scandal.

In the new adaptation touring the UK, Phoebe Marshall plays the lady to Rupert Hill’s Mellor.

Best known for his role as Jamie Baldwin in Coronation Street, Rupert admits the book had passed him by.

‘I knew very little about the book, to be honest. I’m ashamed to say that I think I’d kind of dismissed it as a 50 Shades of the 1920s!

‘But I read Ciaran [McConville]’s script and I thought it was stunning – very theatrical and immersive and this really excited me. So much so that prior to my audition I decided to prioritise reading the book over learning my lines, a risky strategy but it paid off.

‘The book is without a doubt a new favourite of mine. It’s without question a masterpiece, way ahead of its time and devastatingly relevant.

‘To describe it as an erotic novel would be a woeful misunderstanding. It’s a philosophical book about truly being alive and in love. I’m so enthralled that I’m going to be involved in a new retelling.’

Rupert found himself looking into the novel’s history – and the infamous 1960 trial.

‘The book is very explicit but it amuses me that the very people who sought to have the book banned were also the target of its ridicule. The bourgeois and arrogant position of dictating what people can or can’t say in their creative pursuits – so stuffy and boring – and meanwhile they completely failed to see what a beautiful and progressive love letter to nature Lawrence had written. Life imitated art here quite profoundly.’

What does he want audiences to take away from the production?

‘The book is a beautiful and life-affirming piece of work. It asks of us to transcend the tedious trappings of class and social status and seek a higher state of mutual wellbeing through openness and human contact and love.

‘It’s a meditative, cathartic journey and I felt utterly joyous after completing the book. I hope through Ciaran’s vision that we can create something intense, challenging, raw and ultimately life-affirming for our audiences. And also I hope they absolutely love it and tell all their friends!’

And he thinks its themes are still all too relevant.

‘It’s utterly absurd that in 2019 we are still discussing female equality in society. Whether it’s their continued sexual exploitation in various guises, a pay gap deficit still apparent pretty much across the board or the lack of female political leadership across the planet, this battle is still being fought.

‘Powerful men seem so cocksure that their vision of the world and the human condition is the correct analysis and what Lawrence does is to drown out and quieten those voices and he raises the volume of the female protagonist.

‘We hear her desires, hopes and beliefs and they contradict starkly with that of her husband’s and his stifling high society. It is such a feminine book (for want of a better word) that it continuous to amaze me that it was actually written by a man.’

As well as the gender issues, the book also examines the class divide – which Rupert believes also keeps the story relevant.

‘Absolutely. The rise of populism, nationalism, racism and anti-immigration rhetoric have once again turned the working classes against the migrant as the reason for their downfall.

‘Rather than the collapse of the international markets and the major banks, unregulated by runaway venture capitalist supporting governments. The greatest ever right-wing trick!

The rich/poor divide is enormous and growing and respect for truth, facts and evidence is waning.

‘Food banks, homelessness and a rise in crime also point towards an expanding imbalance and division in class today. The void between the haves and have-nots is as glaring, prevalent and toxic today as it’s ever been.’

With a lot of people knowing him from his time in Coronation Street, what’s the biggest difference between performing on stage and screen for Rupert?

‘One of the major reasons for leaving the Street was because I missed doing theatre. I was worried that I might’ve lost that skillset.

‘It’s a completely different discipline and requires a different approach and respect. Theatre is playful and dangerous. It’s very exciting and humbling too.

‘The audience are complicit to the energy in the room and we all go on a sort of journey together. It’s amazing.

‘Acting for camera is amazing too but it’s all about the finished product. All about the destination. Theatre is about the journey.’

LADY CHATTEREY’S LOVER

Kings Theatre, Southsea

March 5-7

kingsportsmouth.co.uk