2:22 – A Ghost Story

I didn’t know an awful lot about ‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’, bar the theatrical snobbery that seems to follow it around on social media. Each new cast announcement seems to prompt more online eye-rolls, with the stunt casting of pop stars like Lily Allen and Cheryl sparking both amusement and outrage from the kind of people who have cartoon characters for profile pictures.

Still, I went in with an open mind, if also with a degree of apprehension. Truth be told, I’m not big on ghost stories. I’m a little too close in personality type to the play’s cynical smart-arse ‘Sam’, the sort of person who aggressively dismisses the paranormal and relishes in being smug about it. But again, like ‘Sam’, I think this has more to do with me being a terrified little sissy than being in any way intellectually superior. 

The story of 2:22 unfolds over a single dinner party in the home of new parents Sam (James Bye) and Jenny (Shvorne Marks). They are joined by Sam’s former university friend Lauren (Natalie Casey) and her new boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn) who are thrust into a supernatural experiment when Jenny confesses that she believes her house is haunted. Each night, she insists, at precisely 2:22, a ghost appears. With some sceptical and others intrigued, the group agrees to stay up to prove, or indeed, disprove her theory.

James Bye is excellent as Sam, capturing that recognisable intellectual smugness that isn’t quite aggressive enough to make you dislike his character. He takes a strikingly naturalistic approach, which prevents Sam from becoming truly hateful. Instead, he feels like that eccentric family member who ‘goes off on one’ or that friend who ‘takes a bit of warming to’, but ultimately, has his heart in the right place. It would have been easy for Bye to play this role as simply unpleasant, but he finds Sam’s humanity and ensures enough of this shines through so the audience can empathise with him. 

Shvorne Marks’ Jenny spends much of the evening stressed and frightened, a little bit of a thankless role, despite being narratively necessary. But Marks finds nuance in the quieter beats, particularly in moments of recognition about Lauren’s true feelings towards her husband. Speaking of which, Natalie Casey is wonderful as Lauren. She’s a chaotic, wine-loving force of nature. Whether dancing around the kitchen or delivering slurred uncomfortable truths, she is utterly captivating. Her drunkenness too is convincing, a rare skill. So many brilliant actors still perform drunk scenes like they’ve never even sniffed a beer. 

Grant Kilburn’s Ben is warm and endearing too. He nails that sense of being eager to please, a polite, measured composure he maintains for as long as possible, even while battling Sam’s relentless taunts. Yet as the night progresses, Kilburn displays a more unsettling edge. His confessions about his deeply held supernatural beliefs lead to some genuinely chilling moments. 

Collectively, this quartet delivers an easy, believable chemistry. You feel consistently engaged in their company.

Grant Kilburn (Ben) and Shvorne Marks (Jenny) and James Bye (Sam). Photo: Helen Murray.

The set is a worn, work-in-progress home – what a certain class of the London elite might label ‘shabby chic’. It feels lived-in and authentic enough, but above the door, there is a rather conspicuous digital clock reminding the audience exactly how close we are to 2:22am. 

Look, I get it. It does the job, but there might have been a more credible way to include this as a feature. As it stands, I find it hard to believe that a couple with such particular tastes would proudly display what essentially looks like the kind of clock Bugs Bunny would hook up to a stick of dynamite.  

A ring of bright red neon occasionally frames the stage, dimming the rest of the set during transitions, creating the illusion of characters seeming to appear in a space you could have sworn was empty seconds before. 

Lighting and sound are used fairly effectively for a few jump scares – mostly screams blamed on foxes – but these tend to stretch plausibility and provoke more laughter than gasps. I couldn’t help but feel these moments cheapened the production somewhat, as if it were consciously playing into its infamous online reputation, and inviting you to laugh at it. But I honestly don’t think that’s a game this show needs to play. 

The script by Danny Robbins is much smarter than it needs to be. A show like this could probably ride on cheap thrills but it actually takes the time to examine the impracticalities of ghosts, outlining the arguments of the sceptics and countering them in surprisingly compelling ways. Robbins also manages to do this in a way in which it feels genuinely conversational, rather than shoehorned in. 

One suggestion, that ghosts may exist in a confused state, akin to dementia, unaware that they are dead, is particularly unsettling. Again, like ‘Will’, I have argued that it seems unlikely so many ghosts would spend eternity terrifying the living rather than simply trying to communicate with them, particularly when you consider the people they are most likely to ‘haunt’ are their loved ones. But the idea that such spirits might lash out or seek attention not from malice but confusion chipped away at my own comforting scepticism. I could’ve done without that thought when I went to bed last night… 

I was aware from various promotional materials that there was a twist coming at the end, so I searched constantly for clues, trying to outsmart it. Again, very ‘Sam’ of me. But it arrived, for me at least, out of the blue. It felt earned, inevitable in retrospect but genuinely surprising in the moment. 

Ultimately, I was thoroughly entertained and pleasantly surprised. ‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’ suitably defies the online naysayers. My advice would be to ignore the hype and hysteria because behind the headline-grabbing casting and social media outrage is actually a smart, tightly paced and genuinely engrossing piece of theatre. 

2:22 – A Ghost Story plays at the New Theatre in Cardiff till Saturday 21 February. For further information about it’s UK TOUR  visit: 
https://222aghoststory.com/uk-tour-tickets/