By: Jim Hutchins
What do you think of people who believe in ghosts?
Whether you believe or not, don’t you just love ghost stories that make your hairs rise, give you goosebumps, or even make you jump in your seat?
2:22 A Ghost Story, written by Danny Robins, does jus that.
Brought to us by producers Charlie Parsons and Tristan Baker’s Runaway Entertainment alongside Isobel David and Kater Gordon, it’s great to see drama of this calibre on the Lyric stage at Theatre Royal Plymouth.
Danny Robins’ play is entertaining, observant, at times witty, and yet it also contains chilling moments that take us completely by surprise. Only at the end do we realise that he’s masterfully scattered clues throughout, leading to a perfect ghost-story coup de grâce.
Robins’ well written characters feel like friends and people we’ve met, or see ourselves in.
Sam and Jenny have a new baby, Phoebe, and now live in an older house that they’re in the process of renovating. James Bye and Shvorne Marks accurately convey the tiredness, stress and frustrations that build up in this situation. We understand quickly that Sam is the scientific, practical, even ‘nerdy’, partner. Jenny has seemingly abandoned her Catholic upbringing with Sam’s influence but things have been happening that make her reconsider. For several nights now, there have been strange and spooky noises in the baby’s bedroom at precisely 2:22am.
Sam, just back from a business trip, is convinced that there’s a sensible explanation but, as friend Lauren and her partner Ben arrive for dinner and drinks, we understand that Jenny is still convinced that there is something uncanny happening.
Lauren, played convincingly over the top by Natalie Casey, and Ben, a self-confessed paranormal enthusiast, complete the perfect mix for a debate about whether ghosts really exist, and if they do, what might be happening at 2:22.
The set clearly depicts the unfinished renovation with lounge, kitchen and dining areas onstage. Offstage areas such as the bathroom, the entrance hall and the garden are believable and work well within the story.
Lucy Carter’s lighting designs and Ian Dickinson for Autograph’s sound are perhaps as important as the characters themselves, emphasising key dramatic moments and keeping the audience in a state of anticipation.
The clock(s) cleverly drive the performance through the hours as cast and audience creep ever closer to 2:22.
Since the play’s inception, award winning, Olivier nominated, 2:22 A Ghost Story has thrilled many West End audiences, broken records while touring the UK, and enjoyed over 30 productions worldwide.
Writer Danny Robins’ initial research for the play tapped into a huge public fascination and spawned successful podcast series Haunted, the BBC Radio series The Battersea Poltergeist, and the BBC television series Uncanny.
So.
Do you believe in ghosts?
Do you love a really good ghost story?
Are you feeling brave?
2:22 A Ghost Story plays at TRP until Saturday 14 February 2026.