‘PERHAPS THE GREAT DRUG OF THIS GENERATION WAS NOT E, BUT IRONY
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Twelve years on, Steve Cramer examines the pc¥cal heritage of the theatre adaptation of TRAINSPOTTING.
hc clcgantly hlcak mctaphor which cndcd Harry (iihson's adaptation ol‘ lryinc \Vclsh‘s scminal c-gcncration now]. that ol Bcghic and chton standing at an ahandoncd railway station. ‘trainspotting‘. as Bcghic’s old .iakic ol a l‘athcr puts
it. tclls us much ahout this lirst pcrl’ormcd \‘Cl'sititi ol‘ thc hook. l‘or although this c\'p|ains thc rclcy'ancc ol'
thc titlc (somcthing which thc lilm that l'ollowcd it a ycar or two latcr liaich to do) it also capturcd a dark nihilism which at timcs sccmcd to transccnd hoth thc prosc and cclluloid ycrsions. This was a placc with no trains out. politically or cxistcntially. it was also a wry l'unny placc. l‘or all its hlt‘itklicss.
This tcxt. as wcll. which was lcss a singlc story than a collcction ol \‘igncttcs l'rom thc now]. all hookcd togcthcr by a sttcccssion oi dirch addrcsscs to thc audicncc li'oiii l‘our actors playing all thc rolcs. was almost carcl‘ul to c\pungc any possihlc dircct political coinmcntary. 'l'hc critic Michacl Billington’s uncasc that thcrc sccmcd to hc no c\planation ol‘ how thc iunkics at thc ccntrc camc to /u' junkics sccms. rctrospcctiy'cly. to hc quitc just. For this was l‘)‘)~l. thc apothcosis ol‘ postmodcrn rclatiy‘ism. whcn history. idcology and political action wcrc all sccn as passc.
Any idca (ii a collcctiyc human c\pcricncc. hc it til
gricl‘. loy'c. want or iniusticc. was atomiscd. No douht
on thc l‘acc ol it many ol thc artists at thc l’orcl'ront ol‘ this pcriod would hayc hach .‘ylrs 'l'hatchcr and hcr
suhscqucnt imitators. in powcr to this day. hut hcr mindlcss crcdo. "l‘hcrc is no such thing as socic‘l)’. only thc indiy'iduals that makc it up‘was somcthing thcy sccmcd to acccdc to.
For thcrc is Iittlc working class cxpcricncc in
Timmy/willing. only itmkics. Working class lilc. such as it um rcprcscntcd. hccatnc a l'orm ol cultural tourism. a placc that cottld hc \‘isitcd and Mt without rccotirsc to conscicncc or thought. hccausc it was rcprcscntcd as just anothcr indiy idtial c\pcricncc. All
this Icad to a kind ol radical and puritanical ycrsion ol‘
apathy. whcrc all c\pcricncc could hc y'icwcd as surlacc ohscry'ation. and any call to action or changc was iust paranoia on thc part ol‘ thc indiyidual conccrncd. l’crhaps thc grcat drug ol this gcncration was not c. htit irony. which rcprcscntcd all c\pcricncc. l'rom war to washing thc car on Sunday. as somcthing to hc \‘icwcd with po laccd dctachmcnt.
llow dil‘l‘crcnt contcmporary young thcatrc companics arc. Instcad oi rcassuring audicnccs that thct‘c was nothing thcy could do. that thc c\pct'icticc hcl’orc thcm on thc stagc was just lilc. so it's hcst not to try. thcrc arc rcstlcss calls to action hcncath thc tc\t. .-\ commcnt lrom Racth (‘haykin li'om ‘l‘li;\.\l. thc young .'\mcrican thcatrc company which garncrcd so much praisc at thc last liringc. sccms to cncapsulatc thc ucw gcncration ol‘ twcntysomcthing practitioncrs: ‘Wc‘rc trying not to sink into purc dcspair and irony. that‘s alrcady hccn donc in thc thcatrc. Our work is ahout hopc. ahout pcoplc waking tip slowly oy'cr thc coursc ol~ a play to thcir situation. and cnding at thc hrink ol' action.~
‘I'ruiny/mlling cncapsulatcs much ahout thc gcncration hcl‘orc. but it's morc than just a historical oddity. (io scc.
King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 30—Sat 4 Feb, then touring.
.Sat 71Feb.
Theatre
Hit
THE BEST THEATRE & DANCE
I
Culture present their .
whiCh parallels the life cat-they great Houdini 'with avs’eries Of} -. if people under therapy and, looks; :- like an intriguing night ottheattez-l Witha cast that includes-Selina 1}: -_ Boyack and Paul Blair; thislooksiéf a good night out. fiamway' ~;. Glasgow. until Sat 28 Jan. * Transpoan Revisit the” insalubrious adventures of , Renton. Begbie and company.
one more time with Harry Gibson‘s definitive adaptation of Irving Walsh’s novel. In many; respects. this piece is truer to the " .5 original than the later film version. King '3 Theatre, Edinburgh, Men S " 30 Jan-Sat 4 Feb, then towing.“
3 Get Carter Acclaimed 7'
English touring company. Red. ~- Shift return with this adaptation: of the n0vel which spawned a ., 'l classic 703 cult film. Preparator a"; trip into a grim undemorld‘ot; violence and corruption. Bruntort. Theatre, Musse/burgh, Thu I
26-Fn' '27 Jan, then tauring. _1 7 _ -. * Tartuffe Expect high quality entertainment from this Liz__ " i ’ Lochhead version of Morass: classic. Director Tony Cown’i'e "f. be relied on for a sure touch With ‘ -' Lochhead’s' work. bringing his -'_y characteristic comedic spark to 3 the piece, which has the added
; bonus of a very strong cast-Ly. ‘
Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, f1} 0 Walker Dance/Park: I _’ "4 Music High quality 'y ' ' contemporary dance a ~ .> .2; combination of cutting edge: “j
companies. Often trimmed-by} yl-jjvgg ‘ Skilled fusing of movement;
mist) and lighting," the i Z: a powerfUlCapacity to evoke; emotion. Traverse Weave; Edinburgh, Sat 28 Jan}. ‘LI, " A}: ._
THE LIST 71