In Your Face Theatre’s returning production of Trainspotting is first and foremost a show, rather than a piece of theatre. Having moved into a bigger venue at The Vaults on its return to London, this production utilises the venue’s powerful sound system and strobe lighting design to create sensory overload in the audience (and it is worth noting that earplugs are handed out as the audience file in). The underground space offered at The Vaults is an ideal fit for its subject and tone – drugs, sex, nudity, death and excrement are present from the outset and sustained throughout at an extreme level.  The trains thundering overhead at Waterloo handily contribute to the effect of dilapidation, on top of which it is fitting that the audience should walk onto the set of a nineties rave in a venue very often playing host to big club nights. It underlines the transitional place immersive theatre holds between story-telling and experience-hosting.

Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting phenomenon spans book, theatre and film and is a cultural touchstone as much as a singular cultural event. With this particular attempt to keep the story going for a new set of people, the actual narrative of Trainspotting is boiled down into its most iconic and memorable images. Many of the most famous images from the film are projected very clearly here, including ‘the worst toilet in Scotland’ which holds centre stage in this production. The moment Renton plunges his arm into the toilet is used to great comic effect, with excrement flung towards a squealing audience. This, combined with the fact that the narrative isn’t consistently easy to follow, contribute to the sense that the production is really for people who already know the story of Trainspotting. The focussing in on the signifiers of the story more than the fluency of the narrative has the curious effect of obscuring some of the most relevant thematic points. Renton and Sick Boy’s heroin use, for instance, doesn’t become prominent within the story until the show progresses quite some way.

The best and most captivating parts are those which are derived from Harry Gibson’s earlier (non-immersive) stage adaptation. The use of multiple perspectives rather than the single narrative voice found in Danny Boyle’s film is an effective way of developing detail in a story which cannot use dialogue alone to provide a rich context. This does, at times, present a real challenge for the actors, particularly Gavin Ross playing Renton, who simultaneously narrates and acts out his own heroin overdose admirably well.

This said, because the script’s dialogue focuses primarily on humour and shock effects, it does not manage to create a rich theatrical world. This lack of contextualisation for the characters puts them in danger of becoming simply stock characters; derivative versions of Welsh’s original creations. Chris Dennis playing Begbie has a difficult time presenting a three-dimensional character that is primarily identified by his extreme use of violence and profanity – when this show’s default level of violence and aggression already functions at a maximum. It is virtually impossible for his character to make his aggressive nature distinct from the other characters’.

Unfortunately, by the end of the show, the immersive aspect feels like the least relevant part of the production. The level of interaction with the audience never develops beyond using the physical proximity to make the audience squirm. It seems that this immersive production is inspired by the gross, visceral imagery of the original story much more than the emotional complexity of its characters. On one hand, it offers a simplified but thrilling interpretation of the film, but I would argue that its retelling is neither original or innovative.

Trainspotting is on at The Vaults until January 15, 2017.

Photo: Geraint Lewis