2:22 is the latest in a line of spooky hit plays from the West End, following bone chillers such as The Woman in Black and Ghost Stories.
Louisa Lytton as Jenny and Nathaniel Curtis as Sam in 2:22 – A Ghost Story | Photo © Johan Persson
It is still playing in London, but now also has a production touring the UK, which this week comes to haunt Bath.
The set-up is simple: married couple Jenny and Sam have moved with their baby into an old house which they are renovating.
Jenny is convinced she has heard a ghost in her baby’s room at 2:22am for the past few nights while her husband has been away, but Sam is far too rational to accept this.
They invite Sam’s childhood friend Lauren and her boyfriend Ben over for an evening, and the friendly chat slowly gives way to increasingly fraught disagreements about the potential reality of ghosts as the clock heads relentlessly towards the next 2:22…
Matthew Dunster and Isabel Marr’s direction is taut, slowly ratcheting the tension as evening becomes night, and Anna Fleischle’s kitchen/diner set is fully convincing as an attempt to paper over old rooms which may have sinister secrets of their own.
The actors in this ensemble piece (Louisa Lytton, Nathaniel Curtis, Charlene Boyd and Joe Absolom) clearly delineate their roles, effectively stripping back the veneer of “happy families” to reveal their own frustrations and secrets.
The production is very slick, though the jump scares (screams, glaring red light) are simply added at the end of scenes, making the effect artificial instead of being part of the story.
Danny Robins’ script effectively plays humour and class frictions amidst the spooky content, although the twist ending is able to be predicted during the first act (especially for those who have seen a certain film) because of a repeated clue; however, it’s still fun watching for how the secret is held during act two for those who haven’t worked it out.
Because of this, 2:22 may feel like a poor cousin to The Woman in Black, but it will leave you having enjoyable “but how did/so who was/so did they…?” arguments on your way home from the theatre.
2:22 A Ghost Story is showing at Theatre Royal Bath until 9th September. Box office 01225 448844.
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Reviewer: Steve Huggins
