West End success but Scottish tour axed
The writer from Irvine has voiced hope that his stage adaptation of Trainspotting can be revived after producers called off a planned five-month UK tour. The tour, which was due to open and close in Edinburgh and include stops in Aberdeen, Dunfermline and Glasgow, was cancelled amid what producers described as lower than expected ticket sales and the “current economic climate”.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the author said the production is drawing enthusiastic audiences in London’s West End despite being poorly received by many critics. He argued the economics of touring made it unviable to offer the reduced ticket prices that have helped fill seats in the capital.
“We had to cancel the tour because we just can't afford it… The way the economy is now, no working class people are going to pay £100 for a theatre ticket.”
The musical, co-written with Stephen McGuinness and staged at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, is reported to be playing to packed houses and receiving standing ovations, and its West End run is scheduled to run until early September. Yet producers said taking the show around the UK would require higher ticket prices outside London to cover transport, accommodation and staging costs — a price point the team feared would put it beyond many regular theatre-goers.
Financial realities of touring
Welsh emphasised the contrast between staging the show in London, where cast and production staff are often based and audience numbers allow for discounted seats, and touring venues where additional expenses push the break-even ticket price higher. He said the cast — many recently graduated from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland — had found the cancellation difficult.
- Planned tour length: five months
- Planned Scottish venues: Edinburgh (opening and closing), Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Glasgow
- West End run: Theatre Royal Haymarket, ending 5 September
When tickets were reduced to roughly £60 in London, Welsh said demand surged, but he suggested that meeting the same price elsewhere would have made the tour financially impossible. The producers had previously cited “lower than expected ticket sales” and the wider economic situation when they announced the cancellation.
| Venue | Tour status |
|---|---|
| Theatre Royal Haymarket, London | West End run continuing (to 5 September) |
| Edinburgh | Planned but cancelled |
| Aberdeen, Dunfermline, Glasgow | Planned but cancelled |
Locally significant but contested reception
The musical’s launch has been polarising: contemporaneous reviews in national outlets were largely unfavourable, yet audience reactions in London suggest a strong popular response for some theatre-goers. The production was backed by an established commercial producer and was timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the film’s release. The cast list includes names from the Scottish theatre training sector, underscoring the production’s local creative links.
Welsh said he remains hopeful the musical might return to the road when the economic climate eases. For now, audiences in Irvine and across Scotland will not see the touring production this season, and local theatre companies and venues will have to wait for any revival plans to be firmed up by producers.
The cancellation underscores the wider pressures facing touring theatre in the UK: rising costs for transport and accommodation, ticket-price sensitivity among audiences and the difficulty producers face in reconciling commercial viability with regional access to high-profile shows.
