It has been a book, a play and a film. It has also spawned three sequels, a prequel and two soundtrack albums. Now, Irvine Welsh’s 1993 debut novel Trainspotting is to find new life as a musical.
Opening at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London in July, Trainspotting the Musical will be adapted by the author with an original set of songs, plus others that were used in Danny Boyle’s celebrated film.
“It wasn’t the most obvious book to be successful,” said Welsh. “And it wasn’t the most obvious movie or stage play to be successful. It’s confounded expectations – especially my own.”
If the story of four friends who scam tourists, sign on and take heroin in the dark days of Edinburgh’s needle-sharing crisis sounds unlikely material for a West End show, the novelist points to the serious content of musicals such as West Side Story, Oliver! and Rent.
He hoped this musical would avoid the pitfalls of other adaptations: “There are so many shows in the West End that are either stage plays with music perfunctorily thrown in or nostalgia pieces with unrelated music from the times. The only way I could see a Trainspotting musical work is if we could write our own songs that moved it along as a proper piece of musical theatre.”
That became possible when Welsh formed a musical partnership with Stephen McGuinness. The pair released a soul- and disco-infused companion album to Welsh’s 2025 novel Men in Love and reckoned they could explore a similar range of genres in Trainspotting. They will collaborate on the music and lyrics.
The musical will also feature selected songs from the soundtrack of the film: rights are still being negotiated but Welsh admitted it would feel strange if it did not include Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life.
He said he was not a big fan of musicals, but did have his soft spots: “When I was a kid, I went to see Oliver! eight times on holiday in Blackpool with my mum and dad. They were delighted that I was mesmerised by it. My favourite musical is White Christmas – I’ve watched it every Christmas Day for the past 50 years and cried every time.”
Trainspotting the Musical will feature a couple of new characters as well as contextualising material from Skagboys, his 2012 prequel. “So much time has passed, I feel I can look at the material more dispassionately,” he said.
Making his West End debut, 26-year-old Robbie Scott will play Renton, a part first played on stage by Ewen Bremner in 1994 and on screen by Ewan McGregor two years later. Scott’s CV includes a run of shows at Pitlochry Festival theatre, where he starred in Peter Pan and Wendy. Casting for Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, Tommy and Kelly will be announced soon.
The show’s director, Caroline Jay Ranger, has worked with Steve Coogan, Tim Minchin, Harry Enfield and John Cleese, and her production of Only Fools and Horses the Musical was the Theatre Royal Haymarket’s longest running show. It is a track record that stands her in good stead for a musical that promises to be as funny as it is brutal.
“She’s got the whole package,” said Welsh. “She understands the drama of it, she’s an ex-dancer so she understands the movement and, above all, she gets the humour. If you’re going to give people dark material, you have to have them laugh their tits off as well.”
What stood out in 1994 when director Harry Gibson brought his adaptation of Trainspotting to the stage was the ferocity of the author’s language, mostly lifted straight from the page. As funny as it was scabrous, it seemed custom-built for performance. Subsequent adaptations, such as the immersive Trainspotting Live, have confirmed that to be the case.
Welsh said the same was true today: “It’s got real sass and vigour in the way the actors spark off against each other. I’m really looking forward to an audience seeing it.” The musical will have its first performance on 15 July.