The musical adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, now playing at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, has been met with widespread criticism. The show, which opened 30 years after Danny Boyle’s iconic film, has been described as a bizarre and cringe-worthy misfire that fails to capture the grit of the original story.
A Questionable Adaptation
The announcement of a Trainspotting musical raised eyebrows, given the source material’s bleak depiction of drug addiction in 1990s Edinburgh. The two-and-a-half-hour production, written by Welsh himself with co-writer Stephen McGuinness, has been panned for its tonal inconsistency. Critic Holly O’Mahony notes that it shares as much DNA with Boyle’s film as The Rocky Horror Show does with Frankenstein. The cast, including Lewis Kidd as Renton and Frankie O’Connor as Franco Begbie, deliver strong performances, but the material undermines their efforts.
Creative Choices Under Fire
Directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, known for the musical adaptation of Only Fools and Horses, the production is described as mechanical and cringe-worthy. The choreography, also by Ranger, frequently depicts characters jerking or flailing to emphasize their addiction. The stage design by Colin Richmond struggles to convey squalor, with a projected backdrop of tenement buildings marred by a tacky double-exposure effect. Douglas O’Connell’s video design misses opportunities to show the passage of time during drug-induced stupors.
Musical Misfires
The original songs span a mishmash of genres, including dance, jazz, and jarring American country and western. The inclusion of iconic tracks from the film’s soundtrack, such as Iggy Pop’s ‘Lust for Life’ and Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’, feels blasphemous. A particularly cringe-worthy moment sees the cast break into a rendition of ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ after an observation about addiction.
Missed Emotional Impact
Queasy scenes from the film, like Spud’s soiled bedsheets, are played as pantomime, while devastating moments—such as Alison’s baby dying or Tommy’s AIDS diagnosis—fail to land. The production lacks the guts and vigour of the original story, resembling a primary school play rather than a professional West End show.
The play runs until September 5 at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. Critics advise audiences to seek out the pre-existing stage adaptation of Trainspotting, which predates the film and regularly tours, as a superior live experience.
