2:22 A Ghost Story
Congress Theatre Eastbourne
Until Saturday 4th July
Ghosts. The space between believers and non-believers is one that evokes fierce debates and fiery passion. The former argument is one of faith in the afterlife, of comfort in death, of otherworldly realms that offer comfort and explore the fantastical. The latter is a path of scientific evidence, of rationalisation, of accepting things on a purely evidential basis with a dose of realism, which you could call a supposed “facts-only” outlook on life.
This tension-mounting dynamic is the space that author Danny Robins takes the most fascination in exploring in 2:22 A Ghost Story; a narrative that’s to be expected from the creator of supernatural podcasts, Haunted, The Battersea Poltergeist and Uncanny, which was adapted into a major BBC2 and iPlayer television series.
The plot itself is quite straightforward, two couples get together for an evening’s catch up over copious amounts of wine. Sam, a raging skeptic, and his wife Jenny, who believes she is being haunted, invite their old friend Lauren, a psychologist-alcoholic, and her boyfriend Ben, a big believer in the spiritual world, to their new spooky house. What could go wrong in this cauldron of characters?
And I’d love to tell you what happens next, but spoiler alert, I can’t. You just have to see it for yourself! Let’s just say once you know the final narrative, it changes your entire perspective on the show, an outcome that has caused mass debate online and created a community of fans across the world. There’s a reason this play has seen seven successful spells in the West End since its inception in 2021. It burst onto the scene during a post-covid era that saw people’s interest in spiritualism, personal faith and the afterlife soar in particular.
2:22 is very much a modern-day ghost story, there’s no creaky Victorian floor-boards and wild apparitions here… more deep character developments and interactions, splashed in a contemporary setting with things such as Alexa used as a comical storytelling device and references to social media so on and so forth. It’s sharp, slick, and leaves the audience on a knife’s edge in expectation.
One of my favourite features of the set is a large tension-building digital red clock, constantly counting down the hours and minutes until that fated time of 2:22am… the time Jenny confesses to enduring the most horrific apparition and experience that she no longer wishes to witness alone, but to share with her husband and friends alike… and the audience of course.
The set is a gorgeously detailed, open-plan, contemporary kitchen and dining room inside a 1930s house in the midst of a renovation. It blends modern comforts with unfinished, peeling walls. One of my favourite features was the red lighting outline around the staging, almost creating an edgy yet immersive effect as if we are intertwined with the digital clock itself and the consequences of it reaching that self-titled dreaded time.
The real key that drives this play forward, is not only the craftwork of Danny Robin‘s writing, but the rich characters that require a stellar cast to justify. Sam (James Bye), the obnoxious overly-intellectual skeptical husband, is so outrageously unlikable and likeable at the same time. His wife Jenny (Shvorne Marks) flitters well between sincerity, anxiety, intellect and fear while also remaining interesting and three dimensional. Lauren (Natalie Casey) as the alcoholic psychologist is the comical driving force throughout the show, cast perfectly with her experiences on Two Pints of Lager and a Packet Of Crisps helping bring to light her comical attributes. And finally her spiritual boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn) returns to the role having made his stage debut in the show in 2023, you can see why as he plays the role in a fun, light-hearted way that gets the balance of comedy and sincerity in the right way.
Make no mistake about it, this isn’t a traditional ghost story with a jump-scare every five minutes. What it is, is a playfully fun telling of a contemporary tale that’s full of laughter, tension, intrinsic debate between the spiritual believers and non-believers, of deep character depth and their tremulous relationships between one another, and ultimately it very much is still a ghost story with plenty of eeriness and mystery to boot.
While my hair didn’t stand on end through fear, it was thought-provoking, extremely enjoyable and the conclusion has made me want to watch it all over again… and turn my alarm clock off before it reaches 2:22 tonight.
I would highly recommend going to see this thrilling theatre show with a friend… and perhaps seeing it again after for the exhilaration of the ride.
On a final note, it’s worth highlighting that this was my first time testing the accessibility of the beautiful Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, as I was taking my mum out for the evening in her wheelchair. The staff were extremely helpful from start to finish, and the spacious layout of the venue made it easy to navigate to ensure we had an enjoyable night, where we could focus on indulging in the joys of this chilling production. A big shout out to their wonderful team and a fantastic venue that Eastbourne is very lucky to have.
Reviewer: Stephen Sheldrake
⭐⭐⭐⭐