I remember the first time I watched the film version, huddled on a mate's sofa with a dodgy VHS copy, feeling that strange mix of revulsion and recognition. Thirty years on, and here we are with Trainspotting The Musical finally hitting the West End stage. Previews began yesterday at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, a venue that has seen its share of bold productions over the centuries. It's the sort of homecoming that feels right for a story so deeply rooted in Edinburgh's underbelly.
The official press night lands on 22 July, with the whole limited run wrapping up on 5 September. After that, the show heads out on a UK tour starting in October at the Edinburgh Playhouse. What struck me, reading about the rehearsals, is how this adaptation seems determined to honour the original novel and Danny Boyle's 1996 film without dressing it up in modern pieties. No sanitised lessons or contemporary ideological overlays. Just the unflinching look at addiction, the weight of choices, Scottish identity, and the messy tangle of powerless relationships among a group of heroin users in 80s and 90s Edinburgh.
Irvine Welsh himself wrote the book for the musical and, alongside Stephen McGuinness, composed the music and lyrics. Caroline Jay Ranger is directing and has shaped the production from its early days. The score mixes fresh original numbers with those iconic tracks that lodged themselves in our heads from the film. There's even a new single out from Steve Mac, Welsh and Bobby Gillespie to whet the appetite.
The casting news came with a touch of real-life drama. Robbie Scott was set to play Renton but had to pull out after picking up an injury in rehearsals. In his own words on Instagram, "I am sad to announce that I will be unable to perform in the West End run of Trainspotting The Musical due to an injury I sustained during rehearsals. The team are providing me with the best possible care to get me back to full fitness, with the aim of playing the role of Renton when the tour opens in Edinburgh this autumn." Fair play to him for owning it publicly. Stepping in is Lewis Kidd, who now leads a cast that includes Sheridan Townsley as Sick Boy, Kieran Andrew as Spud, Frankie O'Connor as Begbie, Finlay Paul as Tommy, and the rest of the ensemble.
A story that refuses to flinch
There's something quietly reassuring about seeing a piece like this make it to the Haymarket without being reframed through today's fashionable lenses. Welsh's work has always been about the messy reality of human frailty and the stubborn fact of individual agency, even when the odds are stacked against you. This production appears to trust the audience enough to let those themes breathe on their own terms, grounded in the cultural soil of Scotland rather than imported abstractions.
