A musical adaptation of the classic 1996 film Trainspotting comes to the London stage in July, promising to "speak to our contemporary malaise of defiance in the face of an uncertain future."
Though there have already been stage adaptations of the story — first a novel by Irvine Welsh, and soon after, a twitching dystopia of a movie, starring Ewan McGregor as Mark "Rent-boy" Renton, a young Edinburgh junkie — this is the first time it's been set to live music.
Welsh himself has penned this adaptation, which is directed and developed by Caroline Jay Ranger, while 26-year-old Scottish actor Robbie Scott takes on the role of Renton (just imagine climbing into a toilet bowl every night for weeks on end).
Famous for its cocktail of raw energy and an amount of foul-mouthery which would make Malcolm Tucker blush, the original movie also had one hell of a soundtrack, featuring the likes of Primal Scream, Iggy Pop and Leftfield. The musical adaptation will feature versions of some of these tracks, but also do its own thing with freshly-inked music and lyrics by Stephen McGuinness and Irvine Welsh. Paddington The Musical this is not.
Says Welsh, "This musical has a bigger, loudly beating human heart than either the book or the film. The various stage adaptations of Trainspotting have become acclaimed and moving theatrical experiences and the soundtrack to the movie is obviously iconic. So it made sense to put the music and words together to create an explosive, provocative and entertaining show."
Trainspotting the Musical opens at Theatre Royal Haymarket on 15 July 2026, tickets now on sale
