Tenderness at heart of Phillip Breen's production of Lady Chatterley's Lover

Breen's new stage version of D H Lawrence's once banned novel will feature Hedydd Dylan as Lady Constance Chatterley in her own return to York, after Hedydd played former screen actress Patricia Warren in Terence Rattigan's Second World War play Flare Path at the Theatre Royal in May.

Now Hedydd switches to the aftermath of the First World War in Lawrence's sensual tale of passion, class, love and sexual freedom as the Nottinghamshire writer tenderly recounts how three people – the invalided Sir Clifford Chatterley, Constance and gamekeeper Mellors, all reeling from the war, struggle to survive in a world that has been blown apart.

Lady Chatterley's Lover always will be surrounded by curiosity on account of being banned until 1960, suggests Hedydd. "Whenever it's staged, there's curiosity to see it," she says. "That's partly because of the ban and partly because the book was raunchy! Certainly my grandparents read it, by torchlight under the bed covers. In fact my grandfather used to keep the book in the safe."

Significantly, Breen's production of Lawrence's 1928 story still carries the warning "Please note: this play contains strong language, nudity and scenes of a sexual nature and is not suitable for children".

Tenderness in Lady Chatterley's Lover: Hedydd Dylan as Constance and Jonah Russell as Mellors. Picture: Mark Douet

"With books like Fifty Shades Of Grey, the description of sex in novels now seems quite normal, but playing someone naked on stage is still a challenge and we've taken that in our stride," says Hedydd, who plays opposite Jonah Russell's Mellors.

"We've not made their scenes 'sexy' straightaway or slick or filmic because we're telling a very beautiful but very painful love story. We're not engaging in pornography here; we're handling the story tastefully."

Hedydd is being directed by Phillip Breen for a second time, having appeared in his production of Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2014/2015. "It's been wonderful working with him again. He adapted Lawrence's story, so it's very close to his heart; he cares deeply about it, which has a knock-on effect in our performances too," she says.

"I know some of the reviewers have said the play is not as political as the book but I think Phillip has done a healthy nod to that, but he has instead focused on the tenderness of the novel – Tenderness was the alternative title of the book – and he has made the choice to acknowledge that as the way to get to the heart of the story.

"It's a different way to get the audience to think about the politics, because if they're moved by the story, they're more likely to reflect on the bigger issues too."

Performing in a D H Lawrence work for the first time is proving to be a stimulating experience for Hedydd. "Though I've read Lady Chatterley's Lover and Lawrence novels and poems, doing this play has opened it for me to look at further works," she says.

Above all, she has enjoyed what Breen has brought out in his adaptation. "One of the reasons that I so value Phillip's play is that he's whittled the story down to the bare emotional bones, removing the more floral language," says Hedydd.

Jonah Russell as Mellors in Lady Chatterley's Lover. Picture: Mark Douet

"The tenderness, for sure, is the key to his adaptation. The weight that Lady Chatterley bears is emphasised because the play opens four years into her caring for her husband in his crumbling stately home with no friends. She's on the verge of a nervous breakdown, so her love affair comes out of a deep sadness, which people sometimes neglect."

Hedydd praises Breen's theatrical device for opening the play. "He starts with lots of short scenes, partly to portray winter when we have short, sharp days, and partly to get plenty of information across," she says.

Significantly, Breen eschews having a narrator, a decision that Hedydd applauds. "A narrator can sometimes undermine the audience's intelligence," she says. "Instead, in Phillip's play, Lady Chatterley is in virtually every scene, so I feel my character's eyes become the audience's eyes.

"A lot of things go unsaid in that stiff English way and yet the emotions still come through."

English Touring Theatre and Sheffield Theatres present Lady Chatterley's Lover, York Theatre Royal, Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30pm; 2pm, Thursday; 2.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk. Age guide:13 plus.

Did you know?

Hedydd Dylan is appearing at York Theatre for the third time after starring alongside Owen Teale in Clwyd Theatr Cymru's production of  Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood in April 2014 and in The Original Theatre Company's tour of Terence Rattigan's Flare Path in May this year.