2.22 A Ghost Story AT THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH

Eerie silences, rising tension and startling jump scares.

This week, I was delighted to be invited by Theatre Royal Plymouth to attend 2.22 A Ghost Story. Written by Danny Robins, the creative force behind the hugely popular BBC podcast Uncanny. I’ve previously written about the Uncanny stage show and mentioned being a fan of the podcast, so I was very grateful and jumped at the opportunity to see this play.

2:22 A Ghost Story follows new mother Jenny (Shvorne Marks) and her husband Sam (James Bye), who are hosting a dinner party for Sam’s old university friend and her new partner. While Sam was away, Jenny has been hearing a man in their daughter’s room every night at exactly 2:22am, leading her to believe the house is haunted. Over the course of two hours, the cast debate the existence of the paranormal, attempts to summon the spirit and anxiously waits for the clock to strike 2:22am.

The set is visible as soon as you enter the auditorium, revealing a house in the middle of a modernisation refurbishment. Contemporary features such as a kitchen island and black sliding doors are contrasted with older details, including a wall-mounted gas heater and stripped wallpaper. The digital clocks immediately catch the eye. One sits above a door on the left of the stage and a smaller one on top of the fridge on the right, both glowing red as they rapidly cycle through different times. Their constant presence on stage suggests they will be vital to the story. There is also a border of red lights surrounding the set and at various points during the show, they glow brightly into the audience during blackouts. I thought this was a clever way to create darkness on stage without plunging the entire auditorium into complete blackness.

Photography by Helen Murray

The play opens with Jenny painting a door frame, and pottering around the house, this is all performed in silence except for the creepy moment the baby begins to cry softly through the baby monitor. The clock shows just minutes before 2:22 a.m., creating an immediate sense of eerie anticipation. Dialogue is minimal, and the unnerving silence is broken only by Jenny’s slow pacing around the house. When she leaves the living space to check on her baby, passing under the clock now at 2:21 a.m., the tension in the audience is palpable, waiting for the moment the time strikes 2:22. When it does, a loud scream and a flash of lights make the entire audience jump, followed by nervous laughter echoing through the auditorium. It’s a gripping opening that immediately unsettles and promises a night of jumps and spooks, though, unfortunately, the show never quite reaches the same level of excitement again.

Audiences are likely to respond to this play in different ways, depending on how they engage with the story as it unfolds. I’ll keep this completely spoiler-free, so there’s no need to worry about reading on. For me, I sussed out what was happening fairly early on, which made parts of the play feel a little slow and, at times, drawn out. As a result, some moments that were clearly designed to unsettle didn’t quite land. That said, the play is very well written, though it leans heavily on dialogue, perhaps at the expense of genuine scares. With A Ghost Story in the title, I had expected more moments of fear, but these are few and far between. While dialogue-driven storytelling isn’t a flaw, the play didn’t quite deliver the level of spookiness I had anticipated. 

After a while, the jump scares in the play began to feel like cheap gimmicks. Early on, there are references to foxes in the garden, and their sudden screams during moments of silence genuinely make the audience jump. However, the same fox scares are repeated several times throughout the show, and over time they start to feel predictable and lose their impact. A similar pattern occurs toward the end of many scenes. After dialogue that builds little tension or doesn’t lead to a frightening moment, the scene often ends with loud screeching screams and flashing white lights. These shocks feel unmotivated and add nothing to the story, coming across as a cheap attempt to startle the audience rather than genuinely enhance the drama.

That said, despite the play not delivering the scares one might expect, it is very well written and remains an enjoyable watch. The debates around the existence of the paranormal are particularly engaging, with both sides presented convincingly, showcasing Danny Robins’ expertise in the subject. The cast give strong, commanding performances throughout the two-hour runtime, keeping the audience engaged from start to finish.

Photography by Helen Murray

James Bye delivers an engaging performance as Sam. As the character most sceptical of the ghostly presence, his arrogant and argumentative nature could easily be grating. With his frequent catchphrase, “I think you’ll find…,” Sam might seem like a know-it-all, yet Bye balances this with enough charm to make the character both believable and genuinely likeable. Shvorne Marks plays Jenny, and this was my first time seeing her perform. She brings the character to life convincingly, capturing Jenny’s fear of being perceived as a lunatic while balancing moments of terror, calm, and heightened frustration. Her performance feels incredibly natural, making it easy to imagine sitting in the house with her, sharing the experience. This authenticity makes Jenny both relatable and genuinely likeable.

Also part of the story are Sam and Jenny’s friends, caught up in the evening and almost compelled to stay in the house until 2:22 a.m. to witness the ghostly presence and confirm Jenny isn’t imagining things. Natalie Casey plays Lauren, Sam’s friend, who is intended as the comic relief. At times, this works well, Lauren is playful, teasing Sam, and Casey delivers this with energy and charm. However, when Lauren is left alone in the house, the atmosphere shifts noticeably, hinting at an unsettling history or tension with Sam and Jenny. Unfortunately, when her story arc is revealed, the outcome feels somewhat underwhelming. Additionally, Lauren is portrayed with a strong American accent, which for me felt unnecessary and sometimes distracting, drawing attention away from her dialogue rather than enhancing it. The standout performance for me was Grant Kilburn as Ben, Lauren’s new partner. Impressively, this is Kilburn’s stage debut, yet he commands the stage with ease. Ben begins as an arrogant, unlikable entrepreneur, but as the play progresses, his concern for Jenny and his growing confidence in the face of the paranormal make him more commanding, intelligent and likable. Kilburn brings this transformation to life brilliantly. In one of the few scenes featuring a ghostly apparition, during a séance, his combination of fear and leadership drives the scene, making it a real highlight of the show.

Overall, the play is enjoyable, but it shouldn’t be approached with the expectation of being truly frightened. The pacing can be slow at times, and the dialogue-heavy structure leaves little room for heart-racing scares. Perhaps the title ‘A Ghost Story’ sets expectations higher than the show delivers. Had I approached this production expecting a play that simply explored paranormal themes, I might have enjoyed it more. Instead, I was anticipating more scares, jump moments and fast-paced thrills. As a play, Danny Robins has certainly succeeded in crafting a great story and I hope that in any future productions he might write, he fully unleashes the suspense and scares he clearly has the ability to deliver.

⭐⭐⭐

SEAT REVIEW

Location : Stalls, Seat G8

This seat provides an excellent, fully central view of the stage with a slight tier, ensuring nothing is missed. Legroom is good and there are only a few shallow steps to enter the auditorium. The entrance is conveniently located next to the main building entrance, close to the bar and accessible toilets.