On Sunday 4th September I attended the matinee performance of 2:22 A Ghost Story in the West End. The show plays at the Criterion Theatre in Piccadilly Circus with an all star cast. The popular play takes the audience on a suspenseful and thrilling story of new home owners Jenny and Sam along spooky, paranormal events that occur at 2:22.
The Story Of 2:22 A Ghost Story
The critically acclaimed play tells the story of domestic thriller by Danny Robins, where wife Jenny, who believes her new house is haunted, and husband Sam, who thinks the opposite. According to Jenny, paranormal activities occur during a specific time of the night when she hears her new born baby cry over the monitor, at 2:22am. When the couple invite friends over for a dinner party, the night is prolonged as Jenny is determined to prove her husband wrong and show them that ghosts are in fact real and that she is not crazy. The play provides lots of unexpected twists and turns and hints towards a shocking ending.
Cast, Creatives and Direction
The play ‘2:22 A Ghost Story’ arrived in London in August 2021, and has had two record-breaking seasons at two prior West End theatres, the Nöel Coward and the Gielgud. With two previous all star casts including the likes of Lily Allen, James Buckley and Giovanna Fletcher.
Each production of 2:22 have starred an all star cast, and when I saw the show I was lucky enough to see the most recent incredible actors; Mandip Gill as Jenny, Tom Felton as Sam, Beatriz Romilly as Lauren and Sam Swainsbury as Ben. Since being recognised from previous works, like film and tv, these four actors have taken a large step in a different direction of acting, despite this being each of their west end debuts the cast were convincingly fearful and allowed the audience to truly understand their character. The mood was then intensified through the use of low lighting, doomy sound effects and chilling illusions, by Lucy Carter, Ian Dickinson and Chris Fisher.
The day I visited, it happened to be the last day for that specific cast. However, the play still runs on the Criterion Theatre stage in Piccadilly, with new cast; Laura Whitmore (Jenny), Felix Scott (Sam), Tamsin Carroll (Lauren), and Matt Willis (Ben).
Writer Danny Robins expressed; ‘My aim, writing the play, was to create a fun, spooky, thought-provoking night out, a show that leaves you buzzing, on the edge of your seat, questioning what you believe.’ Which after seeing the show myself, I can confirm this has been executed brilliantly.
Set Design
The set for 2:22 A Ghost Story was designed by Anna Fleischle, which displays the inside of a half-completed renovated house with many household props, but what I liked most were the time projections. The neon red digital clock displays the plots time stamps, acknowledging the plays name audiences expect to see the time 2:22 upon the wall at some point during the show. This gives audiences the desperate anticipation that keeps people on the edge of their seat, anxiously watching the time pass.
Overview
Overall I would give ‘2:22 A Ghost Story’ four out of five stars, I thought the characters were portrayed amazingly, the plot was surprisingly shocking and the set allowed a full understanding of the narrative.
‘Do You Believe In Ghosts?’, book your tickets now and head down to the Criterion Theatre to watch the current cast until January 8th 2023.
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