Choose Life Choose Leith by Tim Bell sampler
By examining the book, the play and the film, Choose Life, Choose Leith both critically analyses the Trainspotting phenomenon in its various forms, and contextualises the importance of the location of Leith and the culture of 1980s Britain. Looking in detail at the history of Leith, the drug culture, the spread of HIV/AIDs, and how Trainspotting affected drug policy, Leith and the Scottish identity, the book highlights the importance of Trainspotting. Choose Life, Choose Leith acts as a reference book, a record of the times and a background as to the history that led to the real-life situation and the publication of the book.
By examining the book, the play and the film, Choose Life, Choose Leith both critically analyses the Trainspotting phenomenon in its various forms, and contextualises the importance of the location of Leith and the culture of 1980s Britain. Looking in detail at the history of Leith, the drug culture, the spread of HIV/AIDs, and how Trainspotting affected drug policy, Leith and the Scottish identity, the book highlights the importance of Trainspotting. Choose Life, Choose Leith acts as a reference book, a record of the times and a background as to the history that led to the real-life situation and the publication of the book.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
20 choose life choose leith<br />
Don’t expect the musical to be polite. If Trainspotting the book had not<br />
broken rules and caused offence, it would never have had the impact it has.<br />
The book tells of encounters with heroin in a particular time and place. The<br />
Trainspotting story took place in <strong>Leith</strong>, but the experience of heroin doesn’t<br />
depend on time and place. It’s a universal story. There is enough fuel in the<br />
raw honesty of the book to power another iteration.<br />
The musical, in all its diversity, could have the power to unite the diversity<br />
of people who wish to drive change. Welsh has said that the musical<br />
will be ‘darker’ than the film, and, in view of his many remarks on how<br />
important this subject is to him, it is hard to imagine that it will not have a<br />
campaigning edge. Bring it on.<br />
<strong>Tim</strong> <strong>Bell</strong><br />
<strong>Leith</strong>, March 2024
Change language