Trainspotting the Musical

ByMark Fisher

Mar 24, 2026 #Caroline Jay Ranger, #Irvine Welsh, #Robbie Scott, #Stephen McGuinness

The Guardian 24 March 2026

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.” [READ MORE]

By Mark Fisher

MARK FISHER is a freelance theatre critic and feature writer based in Edinburgh and has written about theatre in Scotland since the late-1980s. He is a theatre critic for The Guardian, a former editor of The List magazine and a frequent contributor to the Scotsman and other publications. He is the co-editor of the play anthology Made in Scotland (1995), and the author of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide (2012) and How to Write About Theatre (2015) – all Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. He is also the editor of The XTC Bumper Book of Fun for Boys and Girls and What Do You Call That Noise? An XTC Discovery Book (both Mark Fisher Ltd).

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