Playwright: adapted by Tom Mullen from the stage play by Harry Gibson and novel by Irvine Welsh. At: Book & Lyrics Theatricals et al. at Theatre Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave. Tickets: 773-975-8150; www.theaterwit.org; $32. Runs through: Dec. 2
Fans of Irvine Welsh's novel and the 1996 film based thereon will arrive knowing what to expect, but for first-timers (like me), an early scene involving a young heroin addict's ordeal in a filthy public restroom should ascertain that only theatergoers endowed with strong stomachs will remain to witness the further adventures of luckless Mark Renton and his likewise dead-end acquaintances. These will encompass casual violence, promiscuous sex, amateur-porn videos, scatological mishaps, copious (albeit dimly-lit) nudity, the death of an infant, a catalogue of hard drugs and many, many needles.
It's easy to imagine this kind of amorality occurring in exotic locales (Tangiers or Jakarta, say, or Scotland, where Welsh set his novel), but it takes the transposition of its milieu to Kansas City, Mo., in the US of A, to reaffirm the horror of addiction with a capital "A"that is, a physical hunger delivering indescribable bliss when sated, and terrifying consequences when not. The incautious pilgrim who looks to habit-forming substances for escape from everyday stress soon finds its promise tainted with more stress, necessitating further escape, in a chicken-and-egg chase that can only end in a draconian withdrawal, or death.
Schadenfreude's kick being also temporary, the question that adapter Tom Mullen confronts involves how long we can find entertainment in the progress of these slackers who shoot up, screw up, crash and finally burn. The current answer is 90 minutes, at the conclusion of which we are rewarded by one of the smackboys making a final desperate bid for freedom from his oppressive environment, leaving his doomedand betrayedcomrades behind.
Whatever this walk on the sordid side may lack in linear plot, it more than redeems in spectacle. An extensive tech squad has fashioned a kaleidoscopic universe reflecting the abrupt highs and lows associated with individuals dwelling in a constantly shifting multi-sensory state of altered consciousness. Dazzling strobe lights, serpentine VL-5 spotlights, subdued (almost subliminal) voiceovers and a spinning turntable-flooroccupied by carefully drilled ensemble of actors who ricochets off walls and wagon-units like bullets on a free-fire rangeseamlessly convey the volatile giddiness of a world we hope never to visit for longer than the brief running time of this grim, intensely engaging, play.