Theatre

2:22 A Ghost Story at The Lowry, Salford – a suspenseful thriller that will keep you up at night

A particularly memorable twist will leave you gobsmacked...

Dylan Whitty - 5th June 2024

A couple moves into a new house, only to find that something sinister is keeping one of them up at night…

It’s an age-old story we’ve heard countless times, now brought to life onstage through a suspenseful and complex exploration of belief and the afterlife, with a twist that’ll keep you up at night.

The award-winning supernatural thriller, 2:22 A Ghost Story, usually only playing on London’s West End, is continuing its award-winning run spooking audiences across the country.

Written by Danny Robbins, the production is playing at The Lowry between the 4 and 15 June as part of its second tour across the country in under a year.

The story centres around a couple experiencing supernatural events at precisely 2:22am in their home, which doesn’t exactly sound like a new concept – we’ve all grown up on ghost stories about haunted houses.

The familiar genre tropes are all here too; the believer and the skeptic. Throw in a suburban house under construction, halfway between its old and new self, a digital clock and strange noises through a baby monitor, each used as dramatic devices for building suspense throughout the script, and you’ve got yourself a setup audiences know like the back of their hand.

Except, 2:22 A Ghost Story’s writer knows this and uses this familiar setup to lead us into a false sense of security.

The play takes place across one night, aside from its appropriately spooky opening, where two couples come together for a dinner party.

You have Jenny (Fiona Wade), a young mother who is convinced that her new house is haunted after strange occurrences happen at the same time every night; Jenny’s husband, Sam (George Rainsford), a man who values logic, reason and science above all else (even his own wife’s experiences), whose stubbornness causes much of the conflict throughout the play; Lauren (Vera Chok), an old friend of Sam’s and Ben (The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness); and Lauren’s partner.

Various jump scares create tension throughout, but it’s through the opposing beliefs and ideas of these characters that the tension grows more palpable.

Across the evening the characters discuss their own personal accounts of the paranormal as they open up to one another. Fear and belief are the beating thematic heart of the play, themes that spur interesting and sometimes disturbing conversations about the afterlife that’ll linger with you long after the play finishes.

Masterfully directed by Matthew Dunster and Isabel Marr, 2:22 A Ghost Story is not all spooky goings-on though. The supernatural thriller’s script is brought to life through an amazing cast that juggles suspenseful moments with comedy to lighten the predominantly moody atmosphere.

The plot unfolds at a steady pace, with each act revealing new layers of mystery. The pacing is well-balanced, allowing moments of intense drama to be interspersed with lighter, more reflective scenes.

A particularly memorable twist will leave you gobsmacked – the less said about this the better.

Whereas most plays centre themselves around the meaning of life and what it means to be human in one way or another, 2:22 A Ghost Story concerns itself more with the meaning of death and our relationship with it.

“I read somewhere that humans are rational machines caught between irrational beliefs,” says one of the characters in the play’s final act. Themes of belief, fear, and the unknown are explored with nuance. The dialogue is sharp and thought-provoking, prompting us to question our perception of reality. The play’s exploration of these themes is both timely and timeless.

By intertwining moments of genuine terror with thought-provoking dialogue, 2:22 A Ghost Story transcends the typical ghost story. The play’s direction, script and cast all come together to create a powerful commentary on the limits of human understanding and the enduring mystery of what lies beyond. Its well-crafted plot, stellar performances, and high production values make it a must-see. 

In the end, the play leaves us with more questions than answers, compelling us to confront the shadows in our own lives. It is a haunting reminder that sometimes, the most frightening ghosts are not the ones we see, but the ones that reside within us.

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You can book tickets for 2:22 A Ghost Story at The Lowry here.

Featured image: Supplied