Dir. Danny Boyle
1996 | 93 mins | UK | English
Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller,

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Choose life. Choose a job. Choose to watch Trainspotting on the big f**king screen in Studio 74 to mark the 30th anniversary of a film that left an indelible mark on a generation.

Smart, funny, sickly and sometimes just plain unconscious, Mark Renton is a hero for our times. Set in an underbelly of Edinburgh, Trainspotting is the story of Mark and his so-called friends; Sick boy, Spud, Tommy and Diana (who, thanks to a era defining release campaign were iconic before we even met them on screen) – a bunch of losers, liars, psychos, thieves and junkies.

Hilarious but harrowing, and with its era-defining soundtrack at the heart of its impact, Trainspotting captured the energy, attitude and contradictions of 90s youth culture, making music as integral to its identity as the characters themselves, while charting the disintegration of their friendship, seemingly inevitably, towards self destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate – but then again, does he really want to ‘choose life’?

About Rip It Up Season

Youth. Music. Culture.

Three films. Three generations. One shared story of youth culture, music and the need to find your people.

From the pirate radio DJs of late-70s London, to the rave-fuelled chaos of 90s Cardiff and Edinburgh, to the legendary Warehouse in Plymouth, these films capture moments when music became more than a soundtrack — it became a way of life.

Young Soul Rebels, Trainspotting, Human Traffic and W: A Return to Oz take us inside the clubs, streets and spaces where young people found freedom, friendship, rebellion and escape. From punk and pirate radio to rave and the dancefloor, these are stories about the sounds that shaped generations — and the generations that shaped the culture around them.

Whether you were there or you’re discovering it for the first time, turn it up and experience these defining moments of British youth culture on the big screen.

BBFC Rating
Rated 18 – very strong language, strong sex, violence, hard drug use

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>