Irvine Welsh, Michael Pedersen

Thirty Years of Trainspotting with Irvine Welsh

Description

Watch a screening of Danny Boyle’s electric and iconic film adaptation of Trainspotting before hearing from the original novelist, Irvine Welsh

It’s hard to believe it’s been 30 years since the novel Trainspotting first came out. Welsh’s gritty, visceral tale of a gang of Scottish drug addicts and ne’er-do-wells exploded onto the literary scene and quickly became a publishing sensation. It led to box office gold, in the shape of Boyle’s film adaptation that captured the spirit of youth culture in the ’90s, catapulting its stars to fame and changing British cinema for good.

Following a screening of this cult classic, Welsh will be in conversation with prize-winning Scottish poet and author, Michael Pedersen, to discuss how his acclaimed novel has been translated from film to theatre show and soon-to-be musical.

Join him for an unforgettable event. Choose life. Choose spending some time in the company of Irvine Welsh.

This film is certified 18. You may be asked to provide proof of age at this event.

Related Book

Trainspotting novel cover

Trainspotting

Irvine Welsh

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About the Author

Irvine Welsh

Irvine Welsh

Irvine Welsh was born in the great city of Edinburgh and matured in the housing schemes of Leith, West Pilton and Muirhouse. Neither school nor conventional employment appealed, but he was inspired to write after experiencing the explosions of Punk and Rave first hand. Trainspotting, Welsh’s debut novel, was rejected from the Man Booker Prize shortlist, allegedly for offending the judges. It went on to sell over a million copies in the UK alone and was adapted into an iconic film by Danny Boyle, starring Ewan McGregor, Robert Carlyle and Kelly Macdonald. He has been involved in dance music for most of his life, as a DJ and promoter and is currently co-writing a TV drama series charting the rise of electronic music since the late 80’s.

About the Chair

Michael Pedersen

Michael Pedersen: is a prize-winning Scottish poet and author. His prose debut, Boy Friends, was published by Faber & Faber in 2022 to luscious reviews in both the UK and North America and was a Sunday Times Critics Choice 2022. He’s produced two acclaimed collections of poetry with a third, The Cat Prince & Other Poems, due for release in July 2023 with Little Brown. Pedersen won a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, the John Mather’s Trust Rising Star of Literature Award and was a finalist for the 2018 ‘Writer of the Year’ at The Scottish Culture Awards. Pedersen also founded the prize-winning literary collective Neu! Reekie! and has attracted praise from the likes Stephen Fry, Kae Tempest, Irvine Welsh, Maggie Smith, Jackie Kay, Sara Pascoe and more.