Cast announced for Trainspotting The Musical

Following its world premiere at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in London’s West End this year, Trainspotting the Musical will embark on a major UK tour. This will open at the Edinburgh Playhouse on 19 October. The new musical adaptation is written by Irvine Welsh (adapted from his best-selling debut novel) and directed and developed by Caroline Jay Ranger.

In 1996, the “breakthrough British film” (The Guardian) Trainspotting was released. It 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 in the British Film Institute’s ‘Top 100 Greatest British Films of the 20th Century’.

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. Renton (played in the film by Ewan McGregor) will be played on stage by 26-year-old Scottish actor Robbie Scott. He will be joined by fellow Scots actors Sheridan Townsley as Sick Boy, Kieran Andrew as Spud, Frankie O'Connor as Begbie, Finlay Paul as Tommy, Rebecca McKinnis as Cathy Renton, Gordon Cooper as Davie Renton, Ashley J. Russell as Colleen, Rosie Dignan as Alison, Yana Harris as Kelly, and Sophie Hutchinson as 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'Mara.

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.

This isn’t nostalgia, it’s closer than that. The past isn’t revisited - it lingers. The musical doesn’t tidy it. It sits with it. Listens to it. And let 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.

Radical, invigorating and life-affirming, this provocative, unforgettable experience will have even the most sceptical leave on a consciousness-altering high.

Trainspotting the Musical will play at Theatre Royal Haymarket from 15 July to 5 September ahead of a major UK tour. Further information can be found via https://trainspottingthemusical.co.uk/