Any ghost story worth its salt is more than a series ‘jump scares’ or the clanking of chains. All the best examples of the genre use it as a metaphor for psychological trauma or unresolved emotional issues. 2:22 A Ghost Story by Danny Robins can be said to straddle both camps – offering visceral scenes that bombard the senses, but also offering satisfying development storywise, with a sprinkling of ideas for audiences to ponder over…

Jenny (Stacey Dooley) is redecorating her new home in the early hours of the morning. From the off we can tell that a) she is mother of a young child because of the baby monitor on the table and b) major renovation has been carried out, with some walls showing layers of wallpaper from previous owners. But being by herself downstairs doesn’t unnerve Jenny – it is the sound of something… ‘human’ crying near her baby’s crib…

Upon his arrival back from the island of Sark a few days later, Jenny’s husband Sammy (Joe McFadden) makes light of what she heard and repeatedly rationalises what she experienced in empirical terms. Even with the arrival of their mutual friend Lauren (Donna Air), the tension between doesn’t abate and with Ben – Lauren’s present boyfriend – in tow (James Buckley), sides are soon taken regarding the most likely explanation. All this would remain academic, but Jenny proposes everyone stays up until 2:22am, the time when the aural phenomenon takes place nightly..

While there are plenty of ‘jump scares’ to savour, I (for my money at least) think 2:22 is more interesting in the second half of the show, when it explores the way ‘ghost’ is used in English and how these metaphors hold a deeper meaning. In modern parlance, when we ‘ghost’ people – they are persona non grata – they ‘cease to exist’. The semantics of ghosts in language and people’s status are intertwined, and if we take the argument to its ‘logical’ conclusion, perhaps ‘hauntings’ are the response of those who were ignored when they were alive…

Buckley is very much the emotional linchpin of the play, the person who the majority of the audience will identify with the most. His character has a surprising number of layers, including an open-mindedness towards the unexplained. As someone whose native Catholic faith was eroded away by Sammy’s empiricism over the years, Ben’s presence is a godsend for Jenny. As for Lauren, we sense in the first half there is a lot of unsaid, complicated history between herself and the couple. This tension pays dividends in the second half where layer after layer of revelations are unveiled, including where Lauren fits in, in the bigger picture. But it is the passive-aggressive behaviour between Sammy and Ben that is priceless in the show – one of the highlights of the evening, where beneath their very British behaviour, words of cordiality hide a multitude of sins… “mate”…

In conclusion, without giving anything away, the play does leave clues about ‘the truth’. It stares us in the face – waiting for us to connect the dots…

© Michael Davis 2024

2:22: A Ghost Story runs at the Gielgud Theatre from 25th May to 4th August.