It was heartening to see an almost full house on a Monday at Theatre Royal Brighton for the first night of Danny Robins’ 2:22 A Ghost Story, which certainly did not disappoint the audience, if the various gasps and audible intakes of breath were any indication, as well as the vociferous reception at Curtain Call.
First seen in 2021, and seemingly rarely out of the West End or Touring since, the present reincarnation does full justice to the piece, with an excellent cast who act as if their lives depend on it, giving the play incredible pace from the very start, so that the audience is caught up in the whirlwind of the plot immediately.
Jenny (Stacey Dooley) and husband Sam (Kevin Clifton) have bought an “old” house in north London that they are renovating. Sam has just visited the Isle of Sark on business, where he lost his phone and has therefore been unable to contact Jenny, who has started ‘imagining’ she has heard voices, specifically at 2:22 am. They have invited Lauren (Shvorne Marks), a university friend of Sam, and her new boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn), who has an interest in the supernatural, for a meal… To say any more would risk cries of “spoiler alert,” so I will just say that the result is highly entertaining, if at times, slightly spine-chilling!
In Clifton’s hands, Sam is manically anti-anything supernatural, giving rise to many tense moments between him and Ben, as well as his wife, who knows what she has heard and seen and will not be dissuaded. Dooley is very believable in this role, rarely caricaturing, and getting the undercurrent of exhaustion just right, though one does wonder how on earth she ever married Sam, who is just so… annoying and irritating!
Marks is very successful in gradually getting more drunk as the play proceeds, but perhaps the best-written role is that of Ben. Kilburn is the epitome of an East End builder (“property developer”) and is the perfect foil to Sam, being very laid back in comparison, even if he does spend much of the time in the garden smoking!
Both Marks and Kilburn have important secondary roles that are performed very strongly, greatly adding to the mounting sense of dread, but, of course, little is what it seems in a ghost story!
This is a true ensemble piece of theatre, especially in the first thirty minutes, which has terrific energy. Luckily, Matthew Dunster and Gabriel Vega Weissman realise the audience needs time to assimilate what has happened, so relax the pace… or do they?
2:22 A Ghost Story is a play where the sound design shares equal billing with everyone else involved and Ian Dickinson’s effects are stimulating and imaginative, even if the fox screams are far too loud and frequent! Lucy Carter’s lighting design also aids the gradual building up of tension and Anna Fleischle’s set, complete with a door being repainted and a half-finished rear wall, aids the atmosphere. Chris Fisher’s illusions – watch out for the table! – are also impressive.
The play is not scary enough to cause nightmares, nor is it gruesome, graphic, or gory. But there are genuinely chilling moments where the whole theatre is tense and pin-drop quiet! Scary enough, perhaps, to make you turn on the light the next time you wake up to hear an unusual sound in the middle of the night… just to check the time!
Highly recommended!
Review by John Groves
Jenny believes her new home is haunted, but her husband Sam isn’t having any of it. They argue with their first dinner guests, old friend Lauren and new partner Ben. Can the dead really walk again? Belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening, and that something is getting closer, so they’re going to stay up… until 2:22… and then they’ll know.
CAST
Sam – Kevin Clifton
Jenny – Stacey Dooley
Ben – Grant Kilburn
Lauren – Shvorne Marks
CREATIVE
Written by Danny Robins
Directed by Matthew Dunster and Gabriel Vega Weissman
Set Designer – Anna Fleischle
Costume Designer – Cindy Lin
Lighting Designer – Lucy Carter
Sound Designer – Ian Dickinson for Autograph
Casting Director – Matilda James
Co-Casting Director – Annelie Powell CDG
Illusions – Chris Fisher
Fight Directors – Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown of RC-Annie
Vocal Coach – Hazel Holder
Production Manager – Matt Ledbury
Props by Propworks London Ltd
Associate Director – Jess Daniels
2:22 A GHOST STORY
Theatre Royal Brighton, 6 to 11 October 2025
UK tour continues to 4 July 2026
