REVIEW - 2:22 A GHOST STORY - GIELGUD THEATRE -

The play centres around a married couple; Sam (Elliot Cowan) and Jenny (Giovanna Fletcher) who have recently moved into an old house with their baby daughter Phoebe.

The set is of an open plan living space with kitchen, lounge and dining areas. It shows signs of being renovated and the furnishings are quite modern.

In the evening Sam’s university friend Lauren (Stephanie Beatriz) and her new boyfriend Ben (James Buckley) come round for dinner. Sam has recently been away, and whilst he was, Jenny has heard footsteps and other noises over the baby monitor at exactly 02.22am for the past couple of nights.

Sam, a scientist is firmly sceptical about this, believing their must be a logical explanation, Lauren who’s a doctor is also skeptical. Ben however believes Jenny, and thinks the noises could be a ghost. They decide to stay up until 02.22am to find out.

The play did not really deliver the scare level I was expecting. Other audience members did frequently jump due to the loud screeching and flashing lights which seemed to occur every so often, particularly during scene changes – but this seemed to be for no real reason at all?

The cast are all great in their parts. Particularly Fletcher and Beatriz who bring multiple dimensions to their characters and are both greatly talented. It was a pleasure to see Beatriz’s West End debut, and she really shines in this. Buckley has some great one liners, and Coward’s Sam is so annoying and pretentious, exactly as he is meant to be.

The only issue I had was the lack of frights. Also, not much happened in the first act, which meant that the ending was quite rushed. But the ending wasn’t what I expected and I was very satisfied with the story, I liked that I had predicted it! The play is tense and psychological in a way. It definitely didn’t disappoint but I wanted more spooks!

The show will be back again in the West End very soon, with an all new – all star cast!