The Trainspotting musical, written by Irvine Welsh and directed by Caroline Jay Ranger, has opened in the West End to widespread disappointment. The production attempts to adapt Welsh's 1993 novel about heroin addiction, poverty, and AIDS in urban Scotland into a musical, but critics argue it fails to capture the story's gritty essence.
A story that didn't need jazz hands
Trainspotting has already been adapted into a hit stage play, Danny Boyle's iconic 1996 film, a prequel, three sequels, and T2 Trainspotting. The musical was seen by many as an unnecessary addition. The show lurches from one iconic moment to the next, as if speed-running the greatest hits, but the original songs are largely forgettable. One particularly baffling number sees the cast don cowboy hats and speak in Western twangs, prompting an audible groan from one audience member.
Cast trapped in pale approximations
The cast, including Kieran Andrew as Spud, deliver strong performances but are let down by the material. Characters are either pale approximations of their film counterparts or strange composite sketches from Welsh's expanded universe. The emotional impact of key scenes, such as Alison's baby's death, is softened by the demands of the musical genre. Tommy's tragic decline into addiction feels rushed, and Begbie's terrifying unpredictability is reduced to theatrical bluster.
Recognition mistaken for reinvention
The production relies on iconic lines and familiar scenes, but rearranging them reveals nothing new. The staging, with rolling set pieces and projected backdrops, sanitizes the grime of Leith. The show's earnestness is antithetical to Trainspotting's gritty, non-conformist ethos. As one critic noted, 'The last thing Sickboy would ever do is a peppy little jazz square.'
A fundamental mismatch
The musical genre's inherent earnestness clashes with Trainspotting's refusal to conform. The show feels like an after-school anti-drugs assembly mixed with a soft-grunge Eurovision entry. Critics advise audiences to 'choose life, choose a job, choose to see any show but this.'
