Trainspotting Live NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (220)
See it if A show so good you feel like you got slapped & if you're in the front row that could happen. Lauren Downie, the whole cast is amazing.
Don't see it if if you can't handle audience interaction and are offended easily...Then this isn't for you.
See it if You want to be amazed by great acting, and the most interactive play ever. From the moment you walk in till the last line, you are IN IT!!!
Don't see it if You are offended by language and don’t like interaction.
See it if you like potentially being part of the action and you're not squeamish, because this is very "in your face"-style theatre that gets extreme.
Don't see it if you are easily grossed out or made uncomfortable by depictions of dirty toilets, soiled sheets, drug use and full frontal nudity. Read more
See it if want to watch something interactive and different..
Don't see it if do not like interactive plays
See it if If you seen the movie and read the book then you are in for a treat. But, even if you have not the acting is superb and the play is a hoot!
Don't see it if you do not like immersive plays or are shy about being part of the show.
See it if Definitely see this if you loved the movie! Great acting; Horrifyingly delightful (go figure! hahaha). Go with fun friends! Have a drink!
Don't see it if Don't see this if you're close minded and easily offended. (Not your traditional theatre experience....and that's a GOOD thing!). Read more
See it if you're a fan of the film & the writing of Irvine Welsh. Andrew Barrett is a one-man phenomenon. The play can be considered shocking at times
Don't see it if you need to comprehend every word. The Scottish accents are heavy, but the rhythms of the writing will carry you through. Nudity & wit.
See it if You liked the movie. If you like immersive theatre-this is very good. INTENSE and may make you feel off center. Believe posted warnings!!!
Don't see it if You are offended by anything because they go EVERYWHERE! It’s loud...very loud and crude and rude and disgusting and I loved it. Read more
Critic Reviews (9)
"I missed the elements that make Boyle’s original film such an achievement: the nuanced humanity amid the ugly, brutal mayhem...The directors here go doggedly in pursuit of fun, and the result is way off-kilter. The actors are likable...The humor works. But we don’t get much sense of the characters as people...Neither does any sense of seamy tragedy...We’re cut off from the emotion of it...Without that dimension, the show is drained of all impact as it darkens toward the end."
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"The audience has the option to imbibe during the show; it definitely helps to be relaxed, since chances are good that you will be sat on, pulled onstage or spattered with bodily fluids (fake ones, I hope)...The sheer outrageousness of the crew’s escapades will probably get you laughing, or screaming, at some point before the show is over, but is anyone really jonesing to see Renton’s shit-stained ass up close? Board this train at your own risk—and bring towels."
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"The characters shoot up, get in fights, and fling mysterious substances at the audience. We laugh and cringe at their antics as the performers shove their characters' dysfunction in our faces...To what end? And that's where my admiration for 'Trainspotting' runs out. The sensationalism seems to be the point, rather than the hook through which we can understand an opioid epidemic that is presently devastating communities across the globe."
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“Spreadbury-Maher and Greg Esplin...transform the nightmare into a dream machine...The ensemble all do an impressive job...The sense of inescapability makes ‘Trainspotting Live’ one of the most powerful theatrical experiences in the city...I can't think of a better metaphor for addiction than the feelings brought on by this play...The human condition is rarely as exposed and memorable as it is in this show.”
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“For lovers of innovative and compelling theatre told by a vibrant team of artists, the best trip in the city right now is 'Trainspotting Live'...Turns what might normally be a passive viewing experience into something that feels more holistic and all-encompassing...The success of this emotional journey...speaks to the high level of excellence presented by every member of this creative team...This production grips you from the second you enter and never lets go.”
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"From the moment you enter the rectangular, bisected room (chock full of haze, strobe lights and insanely loud music) to the play's final moments, the material has been given a presentation that is a bit too focused on making its audience deliberately uncomfortable. Not only is there a lot of almost inescapable audience participation, but I kept feeling that too many people watching the show were far too worried if they were going to become part of the show to fully focus on it."
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"Outrageously funny and extremely immersive...'Trainspotting' in the theater is a little like attending an AA meeting, wherein the first half of an addict/alcoholic’s public confession is laced with hysterically rousing anecdotes of insobriety, followed by that big uh-oh moment when everything unravels tragically. On stage, Adam Spreadbury-Maher’s direction makes this difficult transition with unusual ease, in part because the lead performances take a naturalistic turn."
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“The book’s scatological humour explodes all over the place...In the confines of this graffiti-strewn, strobe-lit black-box space, there is no escape. And the squalor and misery of Welsh’s overlapping stories seem viscerally real...For all its excremental antics and foul language, the play...ends up being an old-fashioned story of sin and redemption. That might not be a total delusion, but it does seem a little sentimental. Then again, even the best trip has its downside.”
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