Trainspotting: The Musical has canceled its upcoming UK tour due to low ticket sales and negative reviews, producers announced Monday.
The stage show, adapted from Irvine Welsh's 1993 novel and the 1996 film, was scheduled to tour 10 cities across the UK from October until March 2027, following its London run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which concludes in September.
"The forthcoming UK tour of Trainspotting The Musical, which was due to begin on 19 October, has been cancelled," the production stated. "We are very grateful to our cast, crew and creative team for their dedication to the production, but the current economic climate has resulted in lower than expected ticket sales."
Ticketholders are to be contacted by their point of purchase for full refund details. The production apologized for any inconvenience.
Prior to the official announcement, cast members shared the news on social media. Kieran Brown, a cast member, posted Sunday that the tour was not selling tickets, noting that Edinburgh was only at 19% capacity.
"This business is brutal - but it's business at end of day," Brown wrote, adding that over 100 people involved in the production would be unemployed starting September 6. He indicated that the cast was informed of the decision on Friday and expressed disappointment that the show "just not selling well outside of London."
Irvine Welsh, the author, acknowledged the financial difficulties when speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday. "We are in difficult times and we've been looking at the numbers and sums," Welsh said. "We knew it would be difficult to take a production of that scale on the road. We've got 30 cast members. Basically people just don't have the money."
Welsh also commented on the critical reception, noting, "Critics have already been horrible to me. If I get a good review for something I feel very violated. I think to myself, this shouldn't be happening. I'm not the kind of writer that is loved by the critics. I tend to be a polarising force."
The Daily Mail's Patrick Marmion gave the production two out of five stars, describing it as a "strangely awkward resuscitation of Irvine Welsh's cult novel." The original 1996 film, directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor, followed a group of heroin addicts in Edinburgh and explored themes of urban poverty and addiction. The film achieved significant success, winning the BAFTA for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Trainspotting: The Musical's West End run is scheduled to continue until September 5.