A relative newcomer to the stage, 2:22 A Ghost Story was quickly nominated for a clutch of top awards following its West End debut in 2021 and it is easy to see why.
Appearing at The Regent Theatre, in Stoke-on-Trent, this week, 2:22 A Ghost Story is captivating from start to finish. There is more than a strong hint at the topic in the show’s title and while this is far from terrifying there are plenty of jump starts to keep the audience on the edge of their seats as the tension builds.
2:22 A Ghost Story is very much a thriller as the action slowly unfolds from a one-room stage that serves as the living room of a house that appears to have been visited by an unwelcome spirit.
Having moved into a large house in London that is undergoing a renovation, new mum Jenny believes she hears a ghost pacing in her baby’s room. Determined to uncover the truth amid her husband’s scepticism, Jenny hosts a dinner party-turned vigil to prove there is an unwanted spirit in their home.
A classic dialogue-led ghost story, 2:22 A Ghost Story delivers a modern twist to the genre with a modern take reflected in the stage craft as well as the tone of the conversation – and the backdrop narrative of the middle class of gentrification pushing out working class communities.
Documentary star Stacey Dooley is excellent as the increasingly fraught Jenny, at once likeable, fragile and warmly amusing. While the development of the plot very much focuses around her character, her husband Sam played by Strictly Come Dancing’s Kevin Clifton is central to growing tension, pushing his factual dissemination of events and driving a background tension between the couple that increasingly threatens to spill over. Clifton successfully keeping the intellectually arrogant Sam just the right side of likeable.
This is set against the slowly developing characters Lauren, played by Shvorne Marks, and Ben, played by Grant Kilburn, whose characters gain momentum in tandem with the plot. Lauren the easy-going friend, switching sides repeatedly, and Ben shedding pre-conceptions to take a central role as a fellow ghost hunter with a background deeply rooted in spirituality.
While the story can at times seem almost stationary, the slow burn is what serves to gently build the tension throughout the story until the anticipation of what will happen is palpable with the audience on the edge of their seats. It is impossible not to get wrapped up in the unfolding drama of the second half as tensions mount, questions continue, and it becomes impossible to predict what will happen next.
A smattering of humorously received jump starts certainly deliver an element of shock value, supplemented by the screaming foxes punctuating the night from outside the onstage home. Alongside the increasingly fraught conversation between the couples and the growing, ominous tension, 2:22 A Ghost Story successfully builds the atmosphere deserving of any great ghost story.
One not to miss for fans of on-stage thrillers, 2:22 A Ghost Story is at The Regent Theatre until Saturday, October 4th. Tickets are available online.
-CNM-
