The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Show reviews
    • Interviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Cannes
      • Sundance London
      • Venice
      • London
  • Music
    • Live music
    • Album reviews
    • Interviews
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
    • Fringe
    • Vault Festival
    • Interviews
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Interviews
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join the team
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Culture Theatre

Trainspotting Live at Riverside Studios

Trainspotting Live at Riverside Studios | Theatre review
19th October 2022
Avatar photo
Mersa Auda
Avatar
Mersa Auda
19 October 2022

Theatre review

Mersa Auda

Trainspotting Live

★★★★★

Dates

18th October - 6th November 2022

Price

From £25

Trainspotting Live has tornadoed into London’s Riverside Studios for three weeks only, and it promises to whip up a storm. The junkie friends of Irvine Welsh’s cult novel, made even more popular by Danny Boyle’s 1996 film, continue to attract interest. This adaptation by Harry Gibson dates back to the immediate aftermath of the book’s publication, which is another reason why it shouldn’t be compared to the movie. As Gibson himself puts it: “a play and a film are two different animals.” 

The theatrical production captures the raucousness and disorientation of the protagonists’ experiences through an immersive feel. The action takes place in the central aisle of the performance space, with the audience sitting on either side; when they enter the room, they find themselves in the midst of a rave. Music is blasting and the characters are enjoying the highs of intoxication as they jump and run around. They pick fights and embrace each other, and they also invade viewers’ space as they get people to join in the party spirit.

The story of Mark Renton and his friends unfolds in Edinburgh’s 1980s heroin scene. Mayhem governs their surroundings and their minds, and they hold on to moments of momentary euphoria as they unavoidably slip into a downward spiral of bleakness. The raw and unrestrained behaviours they engage in see them tread on a thin line between black comedy and downright tragedy. 

It’s no easy feat to bring to the stage a story so popular and so dynamic, but this production succeeds in taking the audience on a dizzying ride, where everything feels out of control. While there is no shortage of high energy, what lags behind is a foundation for the personal stories of the characters, which come in snippets but never feel fully formed or enveloping. 

Trainspotting Live is ultimately successful thanks to the actors’ full commitment to their wild roles and to the immersive approach. The fact that the action often expands onto the areas reserved for the audience, coupled with frequent interactions, means that one feels involved in the characters’ chaos while also experiencing a heightened attention due to the unpredictability of the action. 

Copious use of foul language, nudity and graphic drug-related content means that this production is not for the fainthearted, but that it does get to the very essence of the phenomenon it depicts.

★★★★★

Mersa Auda
Photos: Geraint Lewis

Trainspotting Live is at Riverside Studios from 18th October until 6th November 2022. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Read our interview with actor/co-director Greg Esplin here.

Watch a trailer for the production here:

Related Itemsbook adaptationfeaturedreview

More in Theatre

The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre

Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

The Homecoming at the Young Vic

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story at Alexandra Palace

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

The House of Bernarda Alba at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Constance A
Read More

Peter Pan Goes Wrong at Lyric Theatre

★★★★★
Benedetta Mancusi
Read More

The Witches at the National Theatre

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More

A Christmas Carol at the Old Vic

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen at Bush Theatre

★★★★★
Jonathan Marshall
Read More

Wishmas

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Mersa Auda

Trainspotting Live

★★★★★

Dates

18th October - 6th November 2022

Price

From £25

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Candy Cane Lane
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Your Christmas or Mine 2
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    Theatre
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    Theatre
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Your Christmas or Mine 2
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Wonka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Homecoming at the Young Vic
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor at Hammersmith Apollo
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Nutcracker at the Turbine Theatre
    Theatre
  • Wonka
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Your Christmas or Mine 2
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
The Upcoming
  • Contact us
  • Join the team
  • Subscribe to the mailing list
  • Support us
  • Writing for The Upcoming

Copyright © 2011-2023 FL Media