MALVERN theatregoers seemingly aren't too worried by the prospect of not seeing Mrs Robinson in the buff.

Tickets are apparently selling well for the touring version of The Graduate - the iconic Sixties story in which a married woman seduces a young student - which plays the town's Festival Theatre for a week from Monday, December 1.

The stage production attracted a mass of headlines and capacity audiences when it appeared in the West End. With a string of glamorous leading ladies such as Jerry Hall, Linda Gray and Amanda Donohoe stripping off completely as things become serious between Mrs Robinson and track star Ben Braddock in the bedroom.

But there was consternation when provincial theatres realised the star of the touring company, Glynis Barber, had a "no nudity" clause written into her contract.

The fears seemed justified, when The Graduate opened at Southend, Essex, this week to an audience of only 200 in a 1,600 capacity theatre.

It's hard to say whether the no nudity controversy has put people off," said theatre marketing manager Paul Driscoll.

But it was a lot less tickets than we would normally sell for an opening night."

There appears to be no such problem at Malvern.

It's early days yet," said Festival Theatre marketing officer Louise Russell. "The Graduate doesn't come here for six weeks, but tickets are already selling well across the whole week.

By the time the play arrives, the 'no nudity' issue will be old news and people will know just what they are getting.

Forty-seven-year-old Miss Barber is best known for her role in the Dempsey and Makepeace detective series and also for her television portrayal of the strip cartoon character Jane, who was, ironically, always accidentally" losing her clothes.

According to Graduate producer Sacha Brooks, in the key scene she does go topless.

But the towel stays around her waist. It doesn't hit the deck, he added.

Malvern audiences don't seem to care.