Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll and a self-destructive group of hedonists – a formula that’s fuelled many a book and film plot. And theatre too, with an adaptation in Portuguese of Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s book Porno, currently being staged at Vila Madalena’s new Studio SP venue. 

The play, whose full title is Pornô – Falcatrua Nº 18.633, is directed by Gustavo Machado, and is an immersion in the lives of the motley, depraved crew from Welsh’s best-selling book Trainspotting. 

The sequel, Porno, is set ten years on, when Trainspotting’s ragtag bunch of despicable characters’ paths cross again. Sick Boy comes back to Edinburgh with the bright idea of making a porn film, sparking a sex- and drug-fuelled plot, narrated in turns by the different characters. 

This theatrical adaptation, scripted by Eduardo Ruiz, stays true to the original narrative, minus the references to places in the Scottish capital. ‘We wanted a version that could take place in other cities around the world,’ says Machado.

The play, which had a short run last year in Baixo Augusta’s nightclub Vegas, is once again being staged in a nightclub rather than a theatre – this time at Studio SP in Vila Madalena. The venue, which reopened at the end of November, is the original space in which Studio SP began, before the club’s owners moved it to Rua Augusta in search of a larger space.   

The audience sits on benches around a central stage, but the cast uses the entire venue space, getting up close and personal with the audience in a way that the director describes as being ‘typical of cabaret.’ 

‘Now, the scenes are more concentrated and take place even closer to the audience,’ says Machado, comparing the production with last year’s setting in the larger Vegas.  

Seven young, experienced actors form the cast – the original cast from last year, bar two. The talented Sergio Guizé still plays Sick Boy, giving a singular performance as an addict with no scruples. Listen out for the excellent soundtrack, composed by Zerna and Ravel Cabral, especially for the play. After the show, the 80 spectators can remain to party on.