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The story revolves around Mark Renton, a heroin addict living in Leith in Scotland, and is told in a series of largely disconnected snapshots of events in his life. Through Renton we are introduced to the harrowing world of the junkie - from cooking up and injecting smack to waking up in strange places. We follow him through the trauma of overdosing, the agony of 'cold turkey' withdrawal, the uneasyness of sobriety, and the inevitability of relapse.
Along the way we meet a number of other characters, and explore the relationships with Rentons small group of friends. These are; Sick-boy, the hardened heroin addict; Tommy, the new addict who contracts aid; Begbie, the violent bully who beats his pregnant girfriend; and Alison, their female friend and occasional partner in bed.
It is a story which turns full circle, in which we lead Renton much as we found him. This is the world of the addict, a constant cycle of hopelessness and degradation.
This is a production designed for the closeness and intimacy of the small studio theatre and would be best viewed in that environment. It looks and feels a little lost on the larger stage of a main auditorium and so loses much of its impact in that environment.
The humour is intensely black, oftentimes very funny, but is certainly not for the squeamish. The story is delivered in a series of monologues for the main characters in which they recount episodes in their lives. We learn about Renton plunging his arm into a blocked toilet bowl to retreive his Heroin suppositories (which were supposed to help wean him off the drug), and of a waitress revenging herself against obnoxious customers by stirring her used tampon in their soup! This is where the atmosphere of the studio theatre would have been so much better suited, giving the audience a more intimate relationship with the storyteller.
Be warned that this play contains strong language throughout, action and dialogue of a sexual nature and full and partial male and female nudity.
Peter Ireland as Mark Renton led the way with a spirited and powerful performance, although his strong Scottish accent and speed of delivery was at times difficult to follow. Ruaraidh Murray gave a sensitive performance as the as tragic Tommy whilst Brian Alexander was chilling as the hard-headed and sadistic Begbie. Laura Harvey rounded off the ensemble, her lissome figure being ideally suited to the gaunt Alison. All of the cast members played a medley of other characters and threw themselves into the angst-laden action with some conviction.
A darkly funny insight into the seamy underside of drug culture. Harrowing at times, but not as hard-hitting as it might have been.