New musical inspired by Roy Orbison's music to premiere at Leeds Playhouse this summer

You’d be right. For his latest project, a new musical called In Dreams which is based on the song catalogue of Roy Orbison, Sheppard has chosen Leeds Playhouse as the venue for the world premiere. “I think it’s incredible for us to be opening this here,” says Sheppard in the Front Room Café at Leeds Playhouse. “I used to book a train every Christmas, book myself a hotel and come to see the shows here. I wanted to see the amazing productions which people talk about all over the country. When I was starting out, I made a list of all the theatres I wanted to work at and this was at the top of the list.”

You do wonder if he is simply being flattering. After all, & Juliet opened at a Manchester theatre before it went on its West End, Broadway, Australia-conquering tour. Maybe he said the same on the other side of the Pennines. Not so, he insists. “It’s partly because this building has incredible resources that are becoming increasingly sparse in the country. It has a scenic workshop, all the scenery is made here by artists with an incredible skill set, all the costumes are made in this building, all the props are made here, and that’s really rare and as a director it’s a gift.”

It seems like Yorkshire is where he truly wanted to be with In Dreams. It’s fortunate because the smart money would be on the Leeds premiere being the start of an impressive journey. While it would be seriously impressive for In Dreams to replicate the success of & Juliet, there are impressive credentials behind the production.

As well as Sheppard, the main creative is writer David West Read, who wrote & Juliet and was a writer and executive producer of the equally celebrated Schitt’s Creek. The lead role Kenna is played by Broadway star and Tony award winner Lena Hall. And then there’s the music.

In Dreams tells the story of Kenna, a former lead singer of a country rock band, who reaches a critical moment in her life and decides to throw a part in a family run Mexican restaurant to reconnect with old friends, all while keeping her real motivations for the gathering a secret. What the marketing type would call this show’s Unique Selling Point, though, is the music – it’s all built around songs like You Got It, Only the Lonely and Pretty Woman.

“I would say this theatre in particular has a reputation for debuting new work,” says Sheppard, acknowledging the difficulty artists can sometimes face when trying to get new musicals in particular off the ground. “It’s partly got that reputation because of the people who run the building and the artists who work here and the programming speaks for itself. “I think it’s rare for a new musical because they don’t come along that often, maybe in America, where there is more of a culture of developing new musicals, but the problem is always how do you talk to an audience about it, often audiences want to go see something that they know. You need to find a way to invite audiences into new work. So I think it’s incredible that it’s here, opening at the Leeds Playhouse.”

He’s right, of course. New musicals are notoriously difficult to get off the ground. It definitely doesn’t hurt that while this musical is new, the songs in it will be very familiar. “I’ve come to Roy Orbison’s music relatively recently. It was actually through my parents. I went home and said ‘I’ve been asked to look at the music of Roy Orbison to see if it might work on stage’ and my parents were immediately saying ‘you have to listen to this song and this song’. I was working with David on & Juliet and he said that while he never thought he’d write another musical, Roy Orbison’s was the one catalogue of music that really spoke to him. He had a deep connection to it.

“It’s because the things Roy talks about in his music are haunting and he tells incredible stories about how to face loss and how to face life, but then he also has banging tunes like Anything You Want, You’ve Got It, and Handle me with Care and of course Pretty Woman, he’s a big part of our culture, they tell beautiful stories and are great at creating character.”

In Dreams is at Leeds Playhouse, July 3 to August 5. Tickets leedsplayhouse.org.uk