The cast of Trainspotting The Musical choose to be ‘gallus’ on West End opening night

Yesterday, WhatsOnStage headed over to Theatre Royal Haymarket, where Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting The Musical celebrated its opening night.

The world premiere production is scheduled to play a limited West End run until 5 September, before embarking on a UK tour from 19 October, beginning in (where else?!) Edinburgh.

Prior to the show, we sat down with principal cast members Lewis Kidd (plays Renton), Sheridan Townsley (Sick Boy), Kieran Andrew (Spud), Frankie O’Connor (Begbie), Finlay Paul (Tommy), and Yana Harris (Kelly) to get their thoughts on their “anti-musical” and their hopes for the ongoing legacy of Trainspotting.

You can watch all the highlights below:

The West End cast also includes Rebecca McKinnis (as Cathy Renton), Gordon Cooper (as Davie Renton), Ashley J Russell (as Colleen), Rosie Dignan (as Alison), and Sophie Hutchinson as Lizzie, alongside ensemble members Ally Kennard, Kieran Brown, Melanie Marshall, Samuel Stewart, Finlay McKillop, Ciara Ennis, Victoria Nicol, Kyra Fyvie, and Chris O’Mara.

Robbie Scott, who sustained an injury during rehearsals, is scheduled to return to the role of Renton for the UK tour.

Trainspotting The Musical is presented by Phil McIntyre Live and is written by Irvine Welsh, based on his novel. It is directed and developed by Caroline Jay Ranger, with music and lyrics by Welsh and Stephen McGuinness. The score includes tracks associated with the original film alongside new material written for the stage.

The musical follows the beloved characters of Renton, Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud, Tommy and Kelly, following their story three decades after the release of the 1996 film adaptation, which starred Ewan McGregor and became the highest-grossing UK movie of that year, going on to receive a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.

Also on the creative team are set and costume designer Colin Richmond, musical supervisor, orchestrator and music director Stuart Morley, video designer Douglas O’Connell, choreographer Christina Andrea, lighting designer Ian Scott, sound designer Rory Madden for Sonalyst, associate director Denise Ranger and casting director Anne Vosser.

Tickets are on sale now.