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The prevailing wisdom seems to be that anything can be turned into a musical, but the first question on hearing about Trainspotting - The Musical is whether this might be a step too far. First published in 1993, Irvine Welsh's Trainspotting is a collection of interconnected stories centred on a group of young people in Leith, Edinburgh, during the 1980s. Three years later, Danny Boyle's film adaptation, with a screenplay by John Hodge, brought those stories to the screen in a graphic and uncompromising portrayal of drug addiction. The words that best describe both the novel and the film are dark, bleak and gritty. They are not qualities one instinctively associates with musical theatre. By its very nature, the musical genre tends to elevate its subject matter. The Sharks and the Jets in West Side Story bear little resemblance to real street gangs, while the tragedy of Blood Brothers and the macabre tale of Sweeney Todd acquire an almost operatic grandeur. It is difficult to imagine how the characters from Welsh's stories or Boyle's film can retain their authenticity once they begin singing. That is the central challenge facing Trainspotting - The Musical, and unfortunately it never finds a convincing answer. It fails to bridge the gap between the raw realism of its source with the heightened conventions of musical theatre. Also, although it is easy to sympathise with the characters' shared experiences of poverty, alienation and addiction, their individual stories fail to make much emotional impact. The fragmented structure works well in both the novel and the film, where the interconnected narratives gradually build a vivid portrait of a community. On stage, however, the constant shifting between characters and storylines prevents any of them from developing sufficient emotional weight and the songs do not successfully compensate for this. The production incorporates familiar pieces from the film soundtrack, including "Lust for Life" and "Perfect Day", alongside newly written numbers. The result is an overlong score that rarely advances the plot or deepens the characters. There are too many songs, and the two cowboy-themed sequences are bewildering, disrupting the flow of the production without adding anything of substance. As in the film, Renton serves as both narrator and participant in the action, but this device feels awkward on stage, and there is simply too much narration. His references to himself in the third person feel stilted and self-conscious, creating a confusing distance between the audience and the central character. Rather than drawing us into the story, we are repeatedly reminded that we are watching a theatrical construction. While the cast throw themselves into the material with admirable commitment and energy, enthusiasm alone cannot overcome the mismatch between source material and its musical form. Trainspotting remains a powerful novel and an iconic film, but this adaptation never reconciles its uncompromising source material with the conventions of musical theatre. In the process, it sacrifices the raw immediacy that made the original so compelling. Trainspotting - The Musical may be a reminder that not everything can, or should, be turned into a musical.
Rated: ★★
Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Matt Crockett
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