Justin Zachary / The archive
A role. A mentor. A story that refused to let go.
Enter the story ↓The beginning
Justin Zachary’s history with Trainspotting spans decades. What began with Mark Renton became a creative lineage—bound to the late director Roger Mathey, tested across multiple productions, and now carried forward through PORNO.
One character · four chapters
Justin first steps into Mark Renton’s battered trainers—and into the role that would become a defining thread in his creative life.
The production returns, deepening a long collaboration with director and mentor Roger Mathey.
Justin revisits Renton again: older, sharper, and still searching for a way through.
The story moves forward. Justin directs and produces the planned U.S. premiere of Irvine Welsh’s sequel through Hypnotized Chickens Productions.
Personal essay
Scotland
/ Renton
/ Roger
/ PORNO
A personal piece about the country that gave Justin a defining role, a creative family, and a story he is still carrying forward.
Read the letter ↗“No Scotland, no story.
No PORNO, no party.
Slàinte.”
“A role he was
born to play.”
Xaque Gruber
The Huffington Post
The critical record
Reviews are filed with the production they document. The 2002 record includes restored original clippings; where a publisher’s page survives, the source remains linked.
Press chapter
Los Angeles Times
“A fierce, bold, harrowing production.”
INSIDE VC · Jeff Favre
“One of the most talked-about productions in the city.”
Wilcall · Dave DePino
“This is real. This is theatre.”
Daily Breeze · Jim Farber
“Powerful performances that convey a remarkably believable sense of their characters’ lower-class Scottish roots.”
IN Los Angeles · David Nichols
“For fans of challenging, brilliant theatre, this is a must-see.”
LA Weekly · Miriam Jacobson
“Zachary’s achingly vulnerable protagonist provides bemused narration, which both lightens the tragedy and facilitates the Scottish vernacular.”
Stage and Cinema Magazine · T. H. McCulloh
“Zachary gives a fine, kinetic performance.”
Ticket Holders · Travis Michael Holder
“As Mark, Zachary is amazing; part wide-eyed child and part future degenerate in the making.”
Back Stage West · Wenzel Jones
“The raw theatricality is unbeatable.”
Press chapter
BroadwayWorld
“Entertaining and shocking in equal measure.”
Stage and Cinema
“Justin Zachary is a theatrical force to be reckoned with.”
HuffPost
“A role he was born to play.”
Neon Tommy
“Zachary and his castmates are phenomenal.”
Backstage
“Justin Zachary reprises the part, and his performance makes the show.”
Blogcritics
“Zachary is clearly at home with Renton.”
Roger Mathey / Director & mentor
Roger Mathey helped shape Justin’s understanding of the stage, of Renton, and of what fearless theatre could be. The next chapter is a continuation of the standard they built together.
Next / 2027
Irvine Welsh’s sequel brings Renton, Sick Boy, Spud, and Begbie back into one another’s orbit. Justin returns to this world as director and producer of the planned U.S. premiere.
Production inquiries