Thirty years on from the film that changed everything, and following\u00a0its world premiere in London\u2019s West End,\u00a0Trainspotting The Musical\u00a0will embark on a major UK tour, coming to the Manchester Palace Theatre November 2nd\u00a02026. Written by\u00a0Irvine Welsh\u00a0(adapted from his best-selling debut novel)and directed and developed by\u00a0Caroline Jay Ranger.<\/p>\n
In 1996 the \u201cbreakthrough British film\u201d (The Guardian) Trainspotting was released and became the biggest grossing UK film of the year taking over $76 million worldwide and won a slew of awards including a BAFTA for Best Screenplay. In 1999 it was ranked 10th\u00a0in the British Film Institute\u2019s \u2018Top 100 Greatest British Films of the 20th\u00a0Century\u2019.<\/p>\n
Now, three decades later, the industrial drug crazed working-class heroes of British youth culture are back, live on stage: Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, Tommy and Kelly.\u00a0Renton\u00a0(played in the film by Ewan McGregor) will be played on stage by 26-year-old Scottish actor\u00a0Robbie Scott. He will be joined by fellow Scots actors\u00a0Sheridan Townsley\u00a0as Sick Boy,\u00a0Kieran Andrew\u00a0as Spud,\u00a0Frankie O\u2019Connor\u00a0as Begbie,\u00a0Finlay Paul\u00a0as Tommy,\u00a0Rebecca McKinnis\u00a0as Cathy Renton,\u00a0Gordon Cooper\u00a0as Davie Renton,\u00a0Ashley J. Russell\u00a0as Colleen,\u00a0Rosie Dignan\u00a0as Alison,\u00a0Yana Harris\u00a0as Kelly, and\u00a0Sophie Hutchinson\u00a0as Lizzie. The ensemble comprises Ally Kennard, Kieran Brown, Melanie Marshall, Lewis Kidd, Samuel Stewart, Finlay McKillop, Ciara Ennis, Victoria Nicol, Kyra Fyvie, and Chris O\u2019Mara.<\/p>\n
Irvine Welsh\u00a0said: \u201cI believe the musical has a bigger, loudly beating human heart than either the book or the film. People need to think about the world we\u2019re living in, and we offer that inspection, but they also need to sing their hearts out and laugh their heads off. It\u2019s what being human is all about. We\u2019ve put together an incredible Scottish cast and I can\u2019t wait to see them bring the musical to life.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1996, CHOOSE LIFE sounded like a challenge. Now the landscape has shifted, but the hunger hasn\u2019t. Addiction hasn\u2019t disappeared \u2013 it\u2019s shifted. It\u2019s quieter now, more embedded. Less needle, more screen. Less escape, more repetition. The modern addiction to mobile phones, faces stuck to screens, the same restless search for something to fill the space.<\/p>\n
Trainspotting The Musical highlights the world we see changing around us, the obscene concentration of wealth, economic and political power in the hands of so few people. It addresses the modern culture of powerlessness.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t nostalgia, it\u2019s closer than that. The past isn\u2019t revisited \u2013 it lingers. The musical doesn\u2019t tidy it. It sits with it. Listens to it. And lets it sing. New songs (with music and lyrics by Stephen McGuinness and Irvine Welsh) in addition to some of the electrifying tracks from the original film that defined a generation.<\/p>\n
Radical, invigorating and life-affirming, this provocative, unforgettable experience will have even the most sceptical leave on a consciousness-altering high.<\/p>\n
Trainspotting is not just a show. It\u2019s a moment. It\u2019s a manifesto. It\u2019s who we are.<\/p>\n