Review: 2:22 A Ghost Story, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

2:22 A Ghost Story is one of the most talked about plays of recent years.

Following seven West End seasons, a record-breaking UK and Ireland tour and thirty productions across the globe, the stage phenomenon 2:22 A Ghost Story returns to Southampton. It is written by Danny Robins, creator of the hit BBC podcasts Uncanny and The Battersea Poltergeist.

A mix of supernatural suspense, drama and light comedy the play poses some important questions. Do ghosts exist? Do they serve a purpose in helping us understand the afterlife?

The setting is an older suburban family home – cosy, familiar, and halfway into being fixed up.

Lucy Carter’s lighting and Ian Dickinson’s sound design work in seamless harmony throughout, with each flicker of light, loud scream and distant fox cry only intensifying the already chilling atmosphere. The ominous digital clock looms on the back wall, eerily counts down the minutes until the dreaded 2:22 with quiet menace.

Stacey Dooley, best known for her investigative documentaries, takes on the role of Jenny, a new mother convinced that her home is haunted. ‘There is something in our house. I hear it every night, at the same time.’ For the last few nights, at precisely 2:22am, Jenny hears footsteps and experiences a strange chill in the baby’s room.

She portrays Jenny’s  increasing frustration as her husband and friends dismiss her throughout the evening and belittle her fears.

They argue with their dinner guests, old friend Lauren and her new partner Ben. Belief and scepticism clash. Something feels strange and frightening, so they are going to stay up until 2:22and then they will know.

Dooley’s real-life partner Kevin Clifton offers an equally impressive performance as the sceptical and scientific husband, Sam. Into astronomy and quizzes, Sam has all the logical counterarguments.

Shvorne Marks and Grant Kilburn as Lauren and Ben complete the dinner party. Lauren’s increasingly drunk persona makes her a compelling counterbalance to Sam’s scepticism. Kilburn’s street wise Ben injects humour into the evening.

Do you believe in ghosts? Of course not, thinks Sam and Lauren. On the other hand, Ben and Jenny  have had unexplained experiences they attribute to the supernatural.

Both sides lay out their cards, cook risotto, play drinking games, and get scared by foxes in the back yard until rationality begins to fail, and emotions take hold.

The feisty couples bicker in uncomfortably realistic ways. Something strange is going on in the house – or is it?

Go see this fun, scary, and thoughtful play for yourself. Be prepared to spend the journey home discussing every spooky detail you can remember.

2:22 A Ghost Story is at Mayflower Theatre until 15th November. Tickets via mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.