TRAINSPOTTING Musical Will Be Even Darker Than Novel and Film Says Author Irvine Welsh

Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has shared that the new Trainspotting musical will be even darker than any previous iteration of the story. 

The musical is set to feature new songs written by Welsh and his co-creators, who are currently planning for a February 2024 West End production, followed by a UK tour.

In an interview with the UK's Observer, Welsh states: 

“I wanted this to be something very different from either the film or the two versions of the stage play.

“So there are some new characters in there, and to be honest it’s quite a lot darker than the book or the film. It’s going to be quite full-on, but hopefully a great experience."

When asked why he decided to make it a musical, Welsh said “Phil McIntyre [promoter and producer] had been asking me for years to do it, and I always said, nah, I’m not doing that.

“Then I thought, if I don’t do it, someone like Andrew Lloyd Webber will do it when I’m in an urn above the fireplace, so I might as well."

The 1993 novel Trainspotting, written by Welsh, was adapted by Harry Gibson into a play, which won Sunday Times Award for Best New Play, and then a film, starring Ewan McGregor in 1996. An immersive stage play, Trainspotting Live, toured the UK in 2022. 

Trainspotting is the story of Mark Renton and his friends, living through the Edinburgh heroin scene of the 80s. "Choose us. Choose life. Choose mortgage payments; choose washing machines; choose cars; choose sitting on a couch watching mind-numbing and spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fckin junk food intae yir mooth. Choose rotting away, pushing and shteing yersel in a home, a total fckin embarrassment tae the selfish, fcked-up brats ye've produced. Choose life."

Photo Credit: Trainspotting Live, Geraint Lewis