Trainspotting
20 July 2026
Theatre Royal Haymarket
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
Trainspotting: The Musical, running at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 5 September, is a brand new adaptation of theiconic 90s film of the same name.
Following the plot of the film, with a few scenes from the book and some original ideas thrown in, the musical revolves around a group of friends in austerity stricken Edinburgh struggling with drug addiction, disillusioned and aimless in a world that isn’t kind to their generation.
The stage design is quite well done, drawing up the 90s atmosphere with projections and a thoroughly run-down industrial look. The stage dressing is a little sparse with just a few props and furniture items used throughout, likely kept simple to be manageable for the upcoming UK tour. The decision to make the musical a mix of original songs and songs from the film and era is probably the first thing audiences will notice, giving it an odd jukebox musical plus feel that doesn’t sit well with the darker topics explored throughout. It feels muddled, undecided, a little aimless.
While all the iconic scenes and characters are there, the show just doesn’t manage to produce nearly the same emotional impact the film did, feeling a little too upbeat, engineered, and superficial instead. The roughness of the film just doesn’t translate to the stage in this production, instead presenting a more stylised and polished version that fails to deeply connect to the audience.
Filled with plenty of 90s nostalgia, Trainspotting feels more like a jukebox musical romp than the pivotal piece of media that it should be to live up to the expectations set by the film. It’s not a bad musical by any means, and the cast is absolutely smashing it, it just lacks depth.
