Adrian Mole director Luke Sheppard – 'the diary was our bible'

Luke Sheppard, whose credits include In the Heights and Jet Set Go, is directing the premiere of The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4, a new musical adapted from Sue Townsend's bestselling and much-loved book. Ahead of its premiere at Leicester Curve tonight (17 March 2015), we caught up with him to find out more about the project, how he started out in the chorus of Oliver!, and why Sue Townsend was such a rock.

What was the genesis of the Adrian Mole musical?

Myself and the writing team [Jake Brunger and Pippa Cleary] worked on a show five years ago, Jet Set Go, that was seen by Leicester Curve's artistic director Paul Kerryson. He said to Jake and Pippa that they should think about writing something for Curve, and after some consideration Jake suggested The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. In a brilliant stroke of luck the rights had just expired, and there was a brief window when they were available. So they approached Sue Townsend, who fortunately was very impressed by the project.

And when did you get involved?

I was always on the peripheray, helping out with the workshops and pursuing other projects, until the big workshop that happened in October 2013. We had Sue's team there as well as the great and good of the theatre world, so there was a lot of pressure on us. And it was the first time we'd used child actors in the roles. But fortunately it went very well and I've been working on it for a year and a half now.

The book is obviously in diary form – was that a challenge to adapt?

Because it's a diary it's quite episodic in structure. What makes it great in book form is that there are little bitesized chunks you can read on the train or at bedtime, so what we've worked hard to achieve on stage is keeping that playful device while also ensuring it maintains its narrative arc… the diary was always our bible.

Talk us through the casting process – obviously finding Adrian was key

It was, and we have four of them! We put out a completely open casting call and did auditions in London and Leicester. We then mixed them together so we didn't know who was from where, or who had experience previously; we didn't look at CVs. We auditioned over 450 children and I personally sat through every one. It was an amazing process and made me realise that these young actors were going through a lot of the changes and challenges that Adrian is going through; it was a real case of life imitating art. And we were just as thorough with the adults – we saw many, many actors for each part and we chose a group who were both playful and brilliantly invested in the truth of the characters. They do all sorts of ridiculous things, but always with the utmost integrity. It's a real ensemble effort.

In terms of structure, can you think of a comparable musical?

That's a tricky one, because the aim is to give it a unique DNA and identity. Our approach is that it's all from Adrian's mind, and because everything to Adrian seems very heightened, there are moments where it seems natural for him to move into music. So for example when this beautiful girl walks into his life [Pandora], it becomes this Busby Berkeley-style song, or when he decides to lead a revolution it has a teenaged, French Revolution edge. So every song has a big idea behind it.

There are undoubtedly parallels between now and when the book first appeared (1982)

That's a very astute observation, and there are definite comparisons. It's fun when we talk to the kids about the politics of the time, they get very involved. They quite enjoy spotting comparisons between those times and ours, and what it means to be left wing and right wing. Adrian is quite politically naive but he does pick up little nuggets, such as the line "there are no more knife and fork factories because Margaret Thatcher's shut them all down". It's also been fun exploring the fashions of the time, though we took a decision not to model the music on the 80s because we want it to have a timeless feel, even though the story is rooted in the period.

Obviously it's early stages but I'm assuming you're hoping the show can have a life after Leicester?

Whenever you make a show you hope that as wide an audience can see it as possible. But the great thing is we're under no pressure to do anything with Adrian Mole afterwards – Curve are funded to make theatre for Leicester, and that's who we're making this show for. I hope other people will enjoy the show, and maybe there are other possibilities down the line, but all we're focused on at the moment is our four weeks in Leicester.

How did you start out as a director?

I used to be terrible at football, and every other sport for that matter. Then one day I saw Oliver! at the Palladium and told my parents that I wanted to be one of the boys on stage. So my mum took me to an audition and I got in, and played third gang member from the left for a few months. After that I did a bit of TV stuff and film work but I'm not sure I was really any good as an actor. Plus I asked too many questions. So I started looking at other alternative careers. While I was at Bristol University studying drama I staged lots of questionable productions in the studio. Jake and I were in the same year, and after graduating we put a show together with Pippa [Jet Set Go]. We all lived together in London and I blagged my way into anything going; after a while I got a bursary to train as a director, and went on to work on projects including Singin' in the Rain and Matilda, which were all incredible learning experiences.

We must give the final word to Sue Townsend, who died during the creation of the Adrian Mole musical – what did she mean to the project?

She was incredibly supportive, and so passionate about giving us a sense of freedom whilst also being a rock in the guidance of the piece. She would give Jake and Pippa and myself so much time. She was so full of constructive support, allowing the show to take on a life outside her own head. I think she could see how passionate we were about the project, and that we came to it with a very good knowledge of her work. We were thrilled that she was able to see an ink-dry final draft before she died. The last time I said goodbye to her she was asking me "when can I buy my tickets?".

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 3/4 – The Musical premieres at Leicester Curve on 17 March 2015 and runs until 4 April