LANA DEL REY, SSE HYDRO, GLASGOW
the strobe lights blur your vision, it’s hard not to get engrossed in the action.
The acting is second to none, most notably from Gavin Ross, Michael Lockerbie, and Greg Esplin, who play Renton, Sick Boy and Tommy with real passion and grit – in between the profanity, violence and nudity, their emotional portrayal shines through in key scenes, bringing the brutal reality of drug addiction to life.
Trainspotting Live is unlike any play I’ve ever seen, and I left certain I had witnessed something unique.
However, a fair warning should be issued to those more accustomed to the Bard or ballet – this crude and graphic production isn’t for everyone and I saw several audience members walk out before the end.
But if you want to experience an innovative and unbelievably special theatre production, choose this play. HOW does an enigmatic, melancholic singer who makes dreamy videos translate to a giant rock venue full of excited Glaswegians wearing floral crowns?
That was the big debate in the Hydro on Wednesday night, filling the gap where Lana del Rey’s support act should have been.
She sashayed on to the stage in a black skater-style dress and got stuck in.
With a slick band, two raunchy backing singers on pillars and a shifting videoscape at the back of the stage, she worked her way through a well-chosen selection of old favourites and new material from Lust for Life. It was pitched just right. Moody Lana and her dark materials do not need dry ice, pyrotechnics and regular costume changes. The musicians gave her atmospheric songs just enough oomph to fill the Hydro, without turning them into karaoke versions of themselves. This worked best on the big numbers. On Music To Watch Boys By, all the elements came together – a kitschy neon backdrop, groovy 60s choreography and a swooping, swooshing sound.
Other strongly-structured songs – Ultraviolence, Off To The Races – pulled off the same trick.
Others, such as the mildly anti-Trump Change from Lust For Life, needed a mushroom cloud on the video screen to underline its message.
Then she was off the stage to work the front row of the crowd while the anonymous band crashed on.
And that was it. We’d had our melancholy and it was time to go home.