Review: 2:22 - A GHOST STORY, Criterion Theatre

Danny Robins's horror play has quietly become a post-pandemic West End staple. After a run at the Noël Coward Theatre back in 2021, it moved first next door to the Gielgud and then to the other side of Shaftesbury Avenue, taking up residence at the Criterion earlier this year. A list of stunt-cast (or cleverly-cast, as some say) celebrities of various calibre have trodden the ghostly boards.

Lily Allen and Julia Chan had their West End debut in the show's first outing, while Giovanna Fletcher, James Buckley, and Stephanie Beatriz in its second. As autumn approaches, a new foursome step in the roles. Felix Scott, Laura Whitmore, Tamsin Carroll, and Matt Willis take over from, respectively, Tom Felton, Mandip Gill, Beatriz Romilly, and Sam Swainsbury. To keep with tradition, this time it's Love Island's own host Whitmore who makes her first stage appearance.

Sam (Scott) and Jenny (Whitmore) welcome Lauren (Carroll) and Ben (Willis) into the run-down Victorian home that they're renovating. As the dinner party goes on, Jenny reveals the disquieting feeling that they might not be alone in the house. Is it the property's previous owner that's perhaps against their refurbishment? Or has something much darker been disturbing her baby's sleep exactly at 2:22 each night? They all have an opinion.

Ben's superstition drives him head-to-head with Sam, who is vehemently against every kind of supernatural suggestion. The only evident ghosts - although they're more like elephants - in the room are the intellectual elitism and the different belief systems that separate these individuals. Robins cleverly weaves an acute social commentary into the fabric of the paranormal horror, jumping at the chance to explore class divide.

Scott plays a condescending, entitled scientist whose rationale comes off as brutal patronising of his wife and guests. He explodes with rage when his reasoning is threatened, then backs down contrite but unapologetic. He finds a perfect buffer in Willis, whose impeccable comedic timing and ferocious intensity add a natural candour to the humour in the play. Wine flows, tempers rise, blood turns cold, and Carroll's spiral into a booze-filled chagrin is heartbreaking.

Sam compares her to Lady Chatterley for dating below her status, but fails to see the years she spent pining for him. Generally, so do we, meeting a caustic woman riddled with disillusionment and fear of dying alone. Their shared past and long-standing intimate friendship become reasons for him to keep trying to gang her up against Ben and Jenny, but she resists, claiming to be Switzerland in many ways.

As Jenny, Whitmore is an exhausted mum who's reaching the end of her tether. A shaky delivery betrays her loneliness, being left by herself with a newborn for long stretches of time due to Sam's job. She comes off slightly strained during Robins's quick dialogues, waiting for her cue and rushing to answer her cast mates, but her presence grows from a sweet and delicate wife to a purposeful, strong mother who's out to protect her child.

The company brings renewed energy to Matthew Dunster's production, but the core of the show remains a smashing success. Ian Dickson's design is a cleverly chilling, subtle soundscape that controls and moderates the audience's reactions, bringing the spooks with delicious auditory jumpscares alongside suspenseful, extended silences.

Anna Fleischle's set still surprises with its unique details and run-down appeal. To mirror the class commentary in the text, brand-new, expensive appliances and a skylight to die for sit side by side with peeling wallpaper, damp, and outdated lamps, while Lucy Carter's lights contribute to the carefully curated ambience.

A year on, three venues, and four cast changes, 2:22 seems to be here to stay and, come Halloween, it will probably be the place to be.

2:22 A Ghost Story runs at the Criterion Theatre until January 2023.

Photo Credit: Helen Murray

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