Review Roundup: Critics Weigh-In On TRAINSPOTTING LIVE!

Adapted by Harry Gibson and directed by King's Head Theatre Artistic Director Adam Spreadbury-Maher, in collaboration with Greg Esplin, Trainspotting Live is now in performances in a brand new immersive performance space at Roy Arias Stages (777 8th Avenue). Produced by Brass Jar Productions (Drunk Shakespeare) and Olivier Award-winning producer James Seabright, Trainspotting Live officially opened just last night, July 15, 2018. Let's see what the critics had to say...

Set against a dynamic soundscape of 80's dance music, Trainspotting Live takes an insightful and brutally honest look at friends, Mark Renton, Tommy, Sick Boy, Begbie and Allison as they live and struggle through the Edinburgh heroin epidemic. This raw and gritty 75-minute stage experience, offers a real-life look at the effects of addiction, and all its highs and lows, while bringing to life the classic novel and globally successful film with humor, poetry, and provocatively graphic staging.

Drawing strong parallels to the opioid crisis ravaging small towns and cities across America, Welsh's enduring story and characters exposes the heart of the issue and demonstrates the nondiscriminatory nature of the disease. A beautifully disgusting production that holds nothing back, Trainspotting Live is a must see for avid fans of the film and, for Trainspotting virgins, it provides a powerfully entertaining experience you won't soon forget!

The cast of Trainspotting Live includes Tariq Malik as "Sick Boy," Andrew Barrett as "Renton," Tom Chandler as "Begbie," Lauren Downie as "June," Greg Esplin as "Tommy," Pia Hagen as "Allison" and Oliver Sublet as "Mother Superior."

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Laura Collins-Hughes, The New York Times: The thing is, though, I am a fan of the movie, and of last year's sequel, "T2 Trainspotting." The stage adaptation, written by Harry Gibson, predates them both, so a comparison might seem unfair. Yet I missed the elements that make Mr. Boyle's original film such an achievement: the nuanced humanity amid the ugly, brutal mayhem; the hallucinatory sense of becoming detached from reality and helplessly submerged in some other psychic landscape.

Regina Robbins, Time Out New York: Trainspotting Live is even more episodic than the movie, which only emphasizes how unessential it seems. The sheer outrageousness of the crew's escapades will probably get you laughing, or screaming, at some point before the show is over (and it moves fast, clocking in at an hour and a quarter), but is anyone really jonesing to see Renton's shit-stained ass up close? Board this train at your own risk-and bring towels.

Robert Hofler, TheWrap: On stage, Adam Spreadbury-Maher's direction makes this difficult transition with unusual ease, in part because the lead performances take a naturalistic turn. In addition to Barrett, there's the charismatic Tariq Malik as Sick Boy, and Greg Esplin's remarkable final turn as the ill-fated Tommy is harrowing in its realism.

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