**04/26/03 Trainspotting wins Best Direction from the LA Weekly Awards. On hand for the event at the Los Angeles Theatre Center were David "Tommy" Agranov, Derek "Begbie" Bishop, Jessica "Lizzie" Chisum, Rikk "Sick Boy" Cheshire, John "Skag Merchant" Hirschmann, Branden "Mark" Morgan, Laura "Sharon" Rice, Natalie "Alison" Sutherland", Karl "Tommy" Wade, Justin "Mark" Zachary, Associate Producer Gary Smith, Co-Producer Andrew DeAngelo, and Stage Manager Kirk Scott.
** 03/17/03 Trainspotting wins Best Direction from the LA Drama Critics Award in a ceremony held at the Colony Theater in Burbank. On hand for the event were Jessica "Gail" Chisum, Rikk "Sick Boy" Cheshire, Natalie "Alison" Sutherland", Associate Producer Gary Smith, and Justin "Mark" Zachary. Stage Manager Kirk Scott, co-producer Andrew DeAngelo, and Branden "Mark" Morgan showed up at the after party to help celebrate the victory.
** 02/05/03 Trainspotting gets three nominations from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle: Best Director (Roger Mathey), Lead Performance (Justin Zachary), and Featured Performance (David Agranov)!
** 01/23/03 Trainspotting makes Honorable Mention list for 2002 Garland Awards for Direction and Make Up Design. Several critics voted for Trainspotting accolades as well, including Wenzel Jones: Production, Performance (David Agranov); Dany Margolies: Musical Score (James Dethlefson and Brian Palla), Scenic Design (Roger Mathey), Sound Design (Brian Palla, James Dethlefson, Kirk Scott); TH McCulloh: Performance (Derek Bishop), Performance (Branden Morgan). Congrats to everyone!
** 01/17/03: Trainspotting gets two nominations for 24th Annual LA Weekly Awards for Best Ensemble and Best Direction.
**01/10/03 Trainspotting voted in Top 3 by Entertainment Today! Also receives Runner Up Honors for Supporting Actor(David Agranov), Ensemble, Playwright (Irvine Welsh), Director (Roger Mathey), and lead actor Justin Zachary receives the New Discovery Award!
Trainspotting received rave reviews from all the critics who saw the show, including a Top Ten listing in the LA Times Best of 2002. Below are the reviews from the Times, the LA Weekly, Backstage West, the Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Breeze, ShowMag, WillCall, Entertainment Today, the Ventura County Star, and IN Los Angeles Magazine:
LA Times
Reviewed by DIANE HAITHMAN
A Fierce, Life-Affirming Dance With Death
The stage version of 'Trainspotting' is an in-your-face tale about heroin junkies that's as jolting as the movie.
Would it be bad taste to call the stage adaptation of Irvine Welsh's "Trainspotting"--first a novel, then a movie about dropout heroin junkies in Edinburgh, Scotland--a shot in the arm? Sure--but no more so than anything else about the fierce, bold, harrowing production currently on stage at Hollywood's Theatre/Theater. If you prefer your theater with expletives deleted and fully clothed, this is no place to be.
For those who recall graphic scenes from the equally jolting 1996 movie, the first thing that pops to mind before seeing the stage version is: They can't really do that on stage, can they?
Yes, they can. Yeah, they do. The opening scene will make you squirm in your chair, and you'll probably keep squirming until the end.
If anything, the stage version, a L.A. premiere directed by Roger Mathey for seat of your pants Productions, is even more in-your-face because, in this small theater on the fourth floor of a commercial building on Hollywood Boulevard, it really is in your face. The dirt, stench and body fluids that always seem to end up in inappropriate locations are so close that there's a feeling the stuff is going to get all over you. It's a spare, black comedy played out against a spare, black set, with one door that opens to different locations, most often to a toilet.
In the film, the magic of special effects often takes the viewer on a high along with the character who has just put a needle in his arm. The stage version is less hallucinogenic, more real--less effective at conjuring up the lure of addiction but more deft in showing the damage done.
Your guide through this world is Mark Renton, played by Ewan McGregor in the movie and here by the engaging Justin Zachary, who narrates the tale with a humorous but heartbreaking combination of amorality and innocence. Zachary, as well as the rest of this brave cast, provides a fragile humanity that renders this dance with death ultimately life-affirming.
The Scottish dialect, thick as oatmeal, is just as indecipherable here as in the movie, but the program contains a "Trainspotting Glossary" of idiomatic terms. After reading it, you'll be prepared to offend everyone in Scotland.
LA Weekly
Reviewed by Miriam Jacobson
Irvine Welsh's dramatization of his unflinching novel about heroin addicts in Edinburgh, Scotland, makes John Hodge's surreal screen adaptation seem giddy by comparison. There are the requisite grim scenes of junkies shooting up and getting sick, but without the euphoria imparted by the film's fantasy sequences. In fact, this shoebox-size theater space, coupled with Roger Mathey's unambiguous direction, lends a fly-on-the-wall viewing experience to the unfolding misadventures of unemployed university dropout Mark Renton (Justin Zachary) and his ne'er-do-well mates. Zachary's achingly vulnerable protagonist, who's repeatedly kicking his habit, provides bemused narration, which both lightens the tragedy and facilitates the Scottish vernacular. A highly credible cast, made to resemble raw meat by makeup artist Jane E. Norris, adeptly handles both the harrowing (a junkie mother's pathetic response to the discovery of her dead baby) and the hilarious (Mark gagging as he retrieves opium suppositories from a clogged toilet). Ultimately, the play underlines this dead-end society's brutality, especially toward women, and overwhelming hopelessness, suggested by the unresolved ending. Mathey's ugly set design is the only drawback in an otherwise vivid production, with original music by James Dethlefson and Brian Palla that evokes Scotland's seediest dives.
Backstage
Reviewed by Wenzel Jones
To call Irvine Welsh's script gritty or real is only to hint at what is going on. You may think you've seen the disaffected-youth-in-drug-milieu show before (Rent, Shopping..., et al.), but I'll bet it didn't look like this one. All I can say is that if it comes out of, goes into, or in fact is a human orifice, you are likely to see it in this production. I hasten to add, however, this is not one of those productions that is shocking just for the sake of being shocking.
Director Roger Mathey has found the underlying humanity in this mordant comedy, rendering even the most repellent situations as identifiably universal. As Lucy found herself trapped in a subway with a vase stuck on her head, so our anti-hero Mark (Justin Zachary) finds himself equally adrift when he awakens in a house he can't identify. OK, it's after a chemical bender and he's covered in feces and vomit, but you get my point.
The Scottish accents (the prospect of which, frankly, terrified me) are handled nicely. While portions of the show could stand to be subtitled, coach Andrea Morgan has the cast comfortable enough in their dialects that the fault seems to lie in the untrained ear of the audience. That's not to say there's not the occasional criminal transgression, but it's noticeable primarily due to its rarity. There is a glossary in the program. Read it.
Zachary gives an intriguing performance as the feckless lead, conveying the spirit of a nice kid who just happens to be a dissipated junkie. David Agranov, as his best friend Tommy, is impressive as he travels from being the bouncy sidekick to being utterly consumed by his addiction. The primary women, Alison (Pamela Tully Pedder), Diane (Dustin Quick), Gail (Jessica Chisum), and Laura (Laura Rice), are not given quite as much of an opportunity to shine; they function as peripheral elements in a story in which the primary relationship is a boy and his opiate. The latter two cover a variety of other roles as well. That said, they turn in a handful of fine performances, with Rice taking the prize for sheer boldness of choices.
The costumes (Deborah Blake) are notable more for the attention they don't attract. They look lived in without being distressed, sometimes trashy but never ironically so. Jane E. Norris has done some nice work with the makeup. It's initially subtle, just going for that damp look a night of metabolizing pharmaceuticals can give you. As the show progresses, however, she's called upon to come up with all manner of bruises and contusions, and they are admirable. Mathey's set, though simple, proves remarkably functional. While the production certainly has its flaws, for utterly raw theatricality it's unbeatable. It does make its demands on the audience, though. It's not always comfortable to sit through. No matter how hip your mother thinks she is, this is not the show to take her to.
The Daily Breeze
Reviewed by JIM FARBER
'Trainspotting' an intense experience'
Watching Theatre/Theater's production of Irvine Welsh's disturbing play Trainspotting with its viscerally assaulting depiction of drug use, sex and violence amid the lower depths of society in Edinburgh, Scotland, is like having root canal surgery with laughing gas.
It's an experience that is alternately horrific, painful, absurdly humorous and ultimately cathartic, as only the most impacting theater can be. And once you become comfortable with the thick Scottish accents and regional slang, the play combines gritty hard-boiled expletive-dominated dialogue with a narrative line that is disconcerting in its poetry and humor, reminiscent of the drug-ridden fever dreams of American author William S. Burroughs.
Adapted for the stage by Welsh two years after the publication of his novel (in 1993), Trainspotting was first performed by the Citizens Theatre of Glasgow. The following year it was transformed into the highly acclaimed film version directed by Danny Boyle.
The story revolves around the denizens of a government housing project. On the dole, the men feel disenfranchised from the rest of society and respond with a combination of brutalizing violence, frantic frenetic sex, and a search for the next fix.
The production is directed by Roger Mathey in a manner that goes out of its way to present every aspect of the story, whether it's the heaven and hell of heroin addiction, the blood-splattering results of domestic violence, the sweaty delights of explicit sex acts, or the filth that comes when an addict's digestive system is out of control, in the most agonizing detail.
So, the question is, why would you want to subject yourself to such an experience? For the majority of theatergoers the answer is, you probably don't.
But for those who have a desire to experience the theatrical envelope pushed to the breaking point, in a manner that is tough but ultimately rewarding because the playwright really does have something to say;Trainspotting is the ticket. It's even worth braving Hollywood Boulevard to see it.
The production's two leads are played by a pair of Americans, Justin Zachary and David Agranov, who deliver powerful performances that convey a remarkably believable sense of their characters' lower-class Scottish roots.
Zachary plays Mark Renton, the play's central figure and principal narrator. Still young and reasonably healthy, he would like to break free of his heroin addiction. But time after time, his (continued in next column)
physical dependency combined with his reaction to the emotional chaos around him drives him back to the temporary Nirvana that comes from a needle.
Agranov plays his mate, Tommy. Not a heroin user at the beginning of the play, he is gradually drawn into the captivating world of heroin until he becomes a slave to the drug and a pathetic victim of its consequences.
Derek Bishop (the cast's true Scot) plays the vicious wife-beating, pub-brawler, Franco, with demonic intensity. The other members of the strong supporting cast, Pamela Tully Pedder, Dustin Quick, Rikk Cheshire, Stuart Rigby, Laura Rice, Jessica Chisum, John Hirschmann, Tamsin Carlson and Andrew McCarty play multiple parts.
Mathey's direction and stage design make the most of the small fourth-floor space, keeping the action directly in the audience's face.
ShowMag.com
Reviewed by T. H. McCULLOH
Drug addiction is like an open sore, and that's exactly the point, from the opening moment on, in Irvine Welsh's stage adaptation of his novel about spaced-out university dropouts in Edinburgh. It's often as disturbing as that wound to see, but in this staging it's very human and often very funny at the same time, proving that humor frequently blossoms in the middle of tragedy. And the warmth and honesty of the author's treatment of his characters brings them startlingly to life. It's a startling and ultimately hopeful piece of theatre.
In the opening scene, Mark Renton, the central character--and a heroin addict--awakes in a room he doesn't recognize, and discovers he has messed his bed in every way possible. It's a situation he has to get himself out of, just, as the play develops, he must get himself out of his addiction. Along the road we see his friends, a rich variety of them, and the daily quandaries their habits place them in, a kaleidoscopic red flag to anyone who might consider a shot of "skag" something worth trying. Moving quickly, like a film, but more impressive than the film version of Walsh's novel, the caroming action of Mark and his friends is engrossing, crude, sometimes upsetting, but always electric and visually magnetic.
Roger Mathey's direction is stunning in its energy and color, and the subtext which he provides from scene to scene is rich and deep. Even those moments that skim over the action take on shades of shadowy meaning in Mathey's hands. There is a "first" cast to be seen at most performances, and a very capable "second" cast that fills in when needed and can be seen on Sunday nights. In the "first" cast, David Agranov stands out as Mark's friend Tommy, who jumps on the heroin bandwagon just as Mark is beginning to wean himself off it. And Derek Bishop gives a stunning, machine gun performance as Mark's non-druggy friend Franco Begbie, whose dialogue, peppered with profanity, crackles with humor and honesty. Bishop is perfect and never misses a beat. Dustin Quick's Diane and Pamela Tully Pedder's Alison are also notable, but the whole company is really worth watching.
Seen in two separate performances, both Justin Zachary in the first cast and his understudy Branden Morgan of the second cast were seen as Mark, around whom the tale swirls. Zachary gives a fine, kinetic performance full of solid understanding of the text, and with a marvelous sense of rhythm and shading, but as sometimes happens, the understudy shines brighter. Morgan's detail and very rich subtext are exceptional, and his Mark is very real and truthful, an incisive portrait that sticks in memory.
WillCall.org
Reviewed by Dave DePino
I turned off the film version of "Trainspotting" several times when it popped up on Cable -- just couldn't get into it. Now I found myself sitting in a small theatre viewing a disturbingly stunning stage adaptation of "Trainspotting" which Irvine Welsh adapted for the stage from his original novel.
The play is set in Edinburgh, Scotland in the present. In the opening scene, Mark (Justin Zachary) wakes up in a strange bed. He is coming off the effects of the drugs of the evening before. He is covered with a gross assortment of body fluids. This shocking introduction into the piece let's you know on what level we will be viewing the action of this play. We will be right in it with no theatrical niceties, political correctness or socially acceptable cover-ups. Gutsy, gritty and brash. There is, however, some humor -- some very dark humor -- mostly in Mark's narration, which somewhat palliates the horror. Over the course of the play, Mark, appearing a hopeless junkie, and his best friend, Tommy (David Agranov), who is drug free, seem to trade places. As this change slowly evolves, there is a host of characters and events that blatantly tell Welsh's frightening tale.
Be forewarned to read the glossary provided in the program beforehand. It offers some of the Scottish slang and local and generational idioms. You will surely miss some of the dialogue due to the heavy dialect, but in most cases, it doesn't hinder the overall drama as this piece is a painting of a culture: a painting with sadly muted colors, broadly violent strokes and aimless splatters. You must stand back to view the whole picture and absorb the effect.
Most people know of the ugliness in life but are reluctant to really want to see it up close and personal. This production is meticulously directed by Roger Mathey to scream in your face. The whole mess of the dropout, youth, drug culture -- along with its senseless losses and painful miseries -- is dumped right in your lap. This is real. This is theatre. What this isn't, is your grandmother's staging of "Our Town." So, should you choose to squirm and feel uncomfortable for a couple of hours in order to experience some pretty terrific theatre, than you will have to go see "Trainspotting".
Mathey's direction is right on target. Oddly, the female characters in this play (portrayed by Pamela Tully Pedder, Laura Rice, Jessica Chisum, Tamsin Carlson and second cast Natalie Sutherland), though individual and important to the overall scheme of things, seem secondary to the men who drive the harshness of their little sub-culture. And though the actresses give strong, distinct performances, the text seems to chauvinistically blend them into one character. Derek Bishop, Dustin Quick, Rikk Cheshire, Stuart Rigby, John Hirschmann, Andrew McCarty and second cast Branden Morgan, Karl Wade and Matthew Tully complete the male portion of this solid cast. James Dethlefson and Brian Palla (original music and sound design with Kirk Scott), Deborah Blake (costumes), Jane E. Norris (make-up), Mathey (set and lighting) and Andrea Morgan (dialect coach) add much to this fine production.
Entertainment Today
Trainspotting
Theatre/Theater
reviewed by Travis Michael Holder
Although I'd like to think I know a great deal about theater, when conversation turns to film (at least current film) I keep my mouth shut and not show my stupidity. See, I know as much about movies as George W. knows about the presidency.
I may be the only person in the world who has never seen the film Trainspotting, so have no way of knowing if the stage version, making its L.A. debut at Theatre/Theater, is anything like the movie. But if the film is one-fourth as compelling as Irvine Welsh's arresting and disturbing stage version, the next time I have a night at home I know what we'll be renting at my house.
This Trainspotting begins with Mark (Justin Zachary) waking up "in a strange bed in a strange room", covered in his own vomit and excrement. Whether this unsettling first image is lifted from the movie I know not, but it's a jolt of a start, considering the elemental intimacy of live theater. It is then made more shocking when the dripping sheet filled with Mark's feces is flung onto the nice suburban family seated around their breakfast table. Trainspotting is filled with such shocks, both visual and scripted. Dealing with the seedy drug culture of modernday Edinburgh, where Mark and his peers have rejected the narrow world of their working class parents for a downwardly-spiraling excursion into heroin addiction, Welsh's uncompromising script is perfectly augmented by the equally uncompromising staging of Roger Mathey.
As Mark, Zachary is amazing, part wide-eyed child and part future degenerate in the making. Whether it's the rigors of the role or an intentional physical transformation, his character's inevitable tailspin into degradation is evident on his face over the course of the play; by the end, he looks like he needs a nap. Or a shower. Transplanted from Bakersfield for this production, Zachary is a real find. There are also some sincere and courageous supporting performances, particularly David Agranov as Mark's friend Tommy, who rapidly descends from grinning university student to doomed smack addict, finally so bruised from needles he resorts to shooting up in his penis.
Still, the real star of this show is producer/director Mathey, who has brought Trainspotting to town from Bakersfield, where he made major ripples in the dust by producing 40-some plays there before deciding it was time to give El Lay a shot. Trainspotting, through Mathey's resolute and steadfast vision, makes recreational mainlining, onstage blowjobs, unfettered nudity, and the most creative continuous use of the c-word you may ever hear, seem somehow fascinatingly artistic, in a Mapplethorpy kind of way. This is remarkable theater: bareboned, raw and sure to bedevil your thoughts long after you walk out onto the appropriately ragged block of Hollywood Blvd.
In Los Angeles Magazine
Reviewed by David Nichols
Trainspotting
4 Stars
Trainspotting is not for the squeamish, but then, neither are current headlines. This adaptation of Irvine Welsh's novel of Edinburgh heroin addiction is as relentlessly visceral a theatrical experience as anything seen locally since the heyday of the late Reza Abdoh.
This registers immediately, as narrator/protagonist Mark Renton (Justin Zachary) awakens to a stomach-lurching scatological nightmare, with a scabrously funny payoff. The subsequent proceedings (equal parts graphic sexuality, unsettlingly realistic drug use, horrific violence, pungent comedy and genuine pathos) form a cautionary tale both harrowing and poetic.
Harry Gibson's text, overflowing with profane colloquialisms and judgment-free detail, conveys more of the novel's tone than did John Hodge's giddily surreal 1995 screenplay. Director/designer Roger Mathey maneuvers this dank scenario with masterful assurance. His stark set, lighting, and inventive staging conjoin with a superb technical effort (especially Andrea Morgan's authentically unintelligible dialect coaching, rendering the program glossary indispensible) to staggering effect.
If Zachary's manically angelic Mark gives us highs and lows without the transitions between, his investment is absolute. So is that of the awesome ensemble, committed to their marrow: David Agranov, Derek Bishop, Natalie Sutherland, Dustin Quick, Rikk Chershire, Stuart Rigby, Jessica Chisum, Laura Rice, Tamsin Carlson, and John Hirschmann, with alternates Branden Morgan, Karl Wade, Matthew Tully, and Pamela Tully Pedder. For fans of challenging, brilliant theatre, this is a must-see. Just don't eat first.