It's been 30 years since Trainspotting told us to 'choose life' and now it's back and telling us to 'choose London,' as the beloved story returns for an all-new West End musical this summer.
Surprised? Perhaps rolling your eyes a little and thinking 'does everything have to be a musical?' That's ok, writer Irvine Welsh thought the same.
"I was quite resistant to it, I'm this kind of artsy ponce, I'm not a show business guy," he said exclusively to Radio Times. "I kept thinking, god my cool acid house mates are gonna think I'm a bit of a w*****r for doing a musical.
"But then I thought, I'm probably better doing it rather than someone else."
Welsh's iconic crew of Scottish youths: Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud, will be officially returning to the world this summer for a two-month run at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket, before heading out on a UK tour until March 2027.
The foursome have seen many adaptations over the years, going from book to screen to straight stage adaptation. But, upon the musical's announcement earlier this year, we were given words like "explosive, provocative and entertaining" to build the hype anew.
"Myself and Stephen McGuinness (writer) just had to get over ourselves," he said, "and we managed to convince ourselves that it wouldn't be any ordinary musical. To make something different in this area we knew it had to be this big multimedia experience, something way more heightened and edgy than the average show".
This is hardly surprising, as edginess has been baked into Trainspotting's DNA from the get-go. Its ability to merge heart and humanity with the most confronting parts of poverty and addiction has been its superpower in both book and film form, although the writer did admit to drawing a line in the infamous 'worst toilet in Scotland' scene: "In some of the old stage performances, the audience actually got covered in s**te! But this time around none of it is actually going to reach the audience, you can go along and be quite nicely dressed." – A relief I'm sure.
Welsh, McGuinness and director Caroline Jay Ranger eventually settled on a show that would be as much an "onslaught on the senses" as it would be a storied musical, with dance, technology, "screaming and mad lights" playing into that overload – he also hints at an elaborate three-storied set on stage.
To keep fans happy, the show has set out to keep the most well-known scenes, although the writer promised "the shock of the new" as well. Fringe characters like Renton's parents and the boys' girlfriends will have much larger roles, and plotlines from Welsh's sequel Skagboys has also been drawn into the script.
Most of all, Welsh wanted to show more of the context around the central four: "It's not just about these four little bad j**kies in their own little world, their behaviour affects an entire community, so it's got a much bigger emotional canvas."
Despite the changes, Welsh was adamant he wouldn't change a thing about the original 1996 film, which celebrates its 30th anniversary at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this August: "It had to exist in its own time and it had to exist in its own place," he said.
This sentiment is widely shared, as Trainspotting is often considered to be a perfect capsule of '90s music, fashion and culture. In particular, the 'choose life' monologue is known and loved for how it made fun of the faux optimism of the time – also known as 'Cool Britannia'.
"Things, in some ways, have got worse than they were back then," said Welsh, "in an ideal world, we'd have resolved all these issues of employment and poverty and addiction and existential crisis. We should have moved along from them."
He went on to say the story's two biggest themes – addiction and existential crisis – are "more acute than ever," saying:
"At least when the industrial working classes were all paid off back in the '80s, they would say things like 'you're going to be the beneficiaries in the long run, because we're going to emerge leaner and better, and we're going to have a stronger and bigger economy,' but now it's middle class jobs that are being destroyed by AI and technology, and there's no apologetic spiel, so that the existential crisis is even deeper.
"And then on addiction, it's an even bigger canvas now and street drugs are a very small part of the whole. The way we live enables addiction, we've got a mobile phone stuck to our face, doomscrolling, and this compulsive need to talk and to exhibit ourselves.
"You've also got the influence of big pharma, and the idea that you can just dial up and, you know, you get a drug. So, we're in this mad cycle of addiction and it's much more comprehensive now than ever."
Yet, despite wishing we no longer needed the message of Trainspotting, the show is nevertheless here to provide it: "The overall message is still very much 'choose life,' and it seeks to be empowering." said Welsh.
"It becomes hard to choose life because it's about a rejection of what is offered and what is easy. It's about servicing our human needs, we have to service our community, we have to service each other, basically, we have to love each other."
Trainspotting is now in preview at London's Theatre Royal Haymarket. Opening night will be on 22 July.
The show has confirmed it will run from Monday to Saturday at 7:30pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2:30pm, and has a running time of two hours, including a 20 minute interval.
The following tour will then take place:
19 — 24 Oct 2026 — Edinburgh, Edinburgh Playhouse26 — 31 Oct 2026 — Sheffield, Sheffield City Hall2 — 7 Nov 2026 — Manchester, Palace Theatre9 — 14 Nov 2026 — York, Grand Opera House16 — 21 Nov 2026 — Hull, New Theatre25 — 28 Nov 2026 — Ipswich, Regent Theatre30 Nov — 5 Dec 2026 — Birmingham, Alexandra7 — 12 Dec 2026 — Leeds, Grand Theatre14 — 19 Dec 2026 — Blackpool, Opera House5 — 9 Jan 2027 — Stoke, Regent Theatre11 — 16 Jan 2027 — Aberdeen, His Majesty’s Theatre18 — 23 Jan 2027 — Nottingham, Theatre Royal25 — 30 Jan 2027 — Cardiff, Wales Millennium Centre1 — 6 Feb 2027 — Southend, Cliffs Pavilion8 — 13 Feb 2027 — Bradford, Bradford Live15 — 20 Feb 2027 — Oxford, New Theatre22 — 27 Feb 2027 — Sunderland, Empire1 — 6 Mar 2027 — Dunfermline, Alhambra Theatre9 — 13 Mar 2027 — Brighton, Dome15 — 20 Mar 2027 — Glasgow, Theatre RoyalHow to get Trainspotting the Musical tickets
Trainspotting the Musical tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster and LOVETheatre, starting from just £15.
Buy Trainspotting tickets at Ticketmaster
Buy Trainspotting tickets at LOVETheatre
For more recommendations check out the Going Out section or listen to our new podcast In the Interval. Plus, our Jesus Christ Superstar review and Beetlejuice review. We also have events like the Peaky Blinders immersive experiences and best West End shows.
Hence then, the article about trainspotting legend irvine welsh reveals why he agreed to musical adaptation and why story is more important than ever was published today ( ) and is available on Radio Times ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trainspotting legend Irvine Welsh reveals why he agreed to musical adaptation and why story is more important than ever )
Also on site :
- PVR Inox’s Sanjeev Kumar Bijli On India’s Box Office Recovery, Cinema Expansion & Cannes Acquisitions Haul
- 1996 No. 1 Hit, Which Resurfaced 30 Years Later, Was Just Reimagined by Two Legends at the Grand Ole Opry
- Vera Bradley’s Quilted Tote Is the ‘Perfect Lunch Bag’ for Work or School, and It’s 52% Off at Amazon