trainspotting Author Irvine Welsh, who says sales of his 1993 novel still shoots up whenever the 1996 film adaptation is televised in the UK, has shared details of the musical he is bringing to the stage – A show will be deeper than what he says is a novel or a film.
Welsh told the UK’s Observer newspaper:
“I wanted it to be very different from the two versions of the film or the stage play.
“So there are some new characters, and to be honest it’s a lot deeper than the book or the movie. It’s going to be pretty full, but hopefully it’s going to be a great experience.
Phil McIntyre [promoter and producer] I’ve been asked to do this for years, and I’ve always said, no, I’m not doing it.
“Then I thought, If I don’t do it, someone like Andrew Lloyd Webber will do it. When I’m in a vase on top of the fireplace, I might as well do it.”
The film, which starred Robert Carlyle, Ewan McGregor and Jonny Lee Miller, was a box office hit upon its release, grossing $72 million from a production budget of just £1.5 million ($1.9 million).
Welsh also revealed that the new show, which is currently in rehearsals in the west of London for a planned opening in February 2024, will include brand new songs to replace the film’s soundtrack, which was a massive seller upon its release. Became (featuring Iggy Pop) lust for life and the rave anthem of the underworld born Slippy,
Welsh also expressed surprise that the book, written when he was 28, remains as relevant today as he is 65 years old.
They told Critic“I was writing about things we didn’t have labels for at the time, like toxic masculinity.
“The characters were dealing with mental health and existential crisis and really, how is it different today?
“Is it any wonder that people don’t really know what their place is in the world? Capitalism is dying but we are not mature enough for socialism, and instead we are sleeping towards some kind of fascist model and almost everything is poisoned.