2:22 A Ghost Story is a supernatural thriller by Danny Robins, starring Vera Chok, Jay McGuiness, George Rainsford and Fiona Wade. This is a week late compared to when I saw this show, but life has been busy. Still, here is my review of the show.
Originally, I had no intention of seeing this show, but after a friend enjoyed it and seeing that Jay McGuinness (The Wanted, Strictly Come Dancing) was in this, I had to see it to see if his acting was as good as his singing and dancing, which leads me to the first point about this play.
Acting in 2:22
The acting in this play was astounding. I forgot that I’ve seen these actors on TV and as a result, was fully invested in the character’s lives. These actors embodies their characters and I loved the accents and choices made.
Plot and Writing
Of course, there will be no spoilers here. The play itself was surprisingly funny despite being a supernatural thriller. The first act of the play is quite slow paced and somewhat boring at times. I heard several people complaining about nothing happening. Outside of characters arguing and talking about it, the writing did not build suspense around the possible supernatural threat as well as it could have. Regardless, I still liked the plot and especially act 2 when things start to grow more and more interesting. I especially liked the twist at the end, which I will talk a little more about later.
Now for the negatives, the characters, however, were a little too unlikeable at times. I’m not sure which character I am supposed to be rooting for, if any of them. If I was supposed to feel confused on which characters I liked, then the writing succeeded. But I’m not sure why I needed to find most of the characters unlikeable when I am, presumably, meant to like them.
While I did not guess the twist at the ending, my ideas and thoughts on it were close. However, many people who consume a lot of horror and thriller stories have told me that the twist isn’t that surprising for them. Still, for me, I liked the twist and thought it made sense.
Professionalism
When the performance halted due to someone in the audience needing medical assistance, the cast, crew and front of house staff remained professional. Situations like this can be very difficult to handle and I think everyone involved were professional about it. I wish I could say the same for some members of the audience who were told to stay seated. Some of them started standing up, walking around, and trying to peer at whoever needed to be helped out of the auditorium. Thankfully, the front of house staff directed them back to their seats.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
The only thing I truly didn’t enjoy at all about this show was the scene transitions. Red lights and a screaming noise mark every scene transition. The scream in particular seemed rather unnecessary and was startling every single time. I’d rather be scared or creeped out by the content of the show and the writing rather than extra loud screams to mark scene transitions.
On a more positive note, i enjoyed the slight bit of magic in the second act. While I have some idea of how they created the illusion with my knowledge of The Alexandra theatre, I won’t speculate.
2:22 Overall
I enjoyed this play and this performance. I think fans of the actors will enjoy this, as well as anyone who enjoy paranormal and ghost stories, especially if they’re told through the medium of theatre. For anyone looking for something interesting to see who might not necessarily love supernatural, horror, or thrillers, this could be a good option.
As per usual, I am not sponsored or affiliated with 2:22 A Ghost Story or The Alexandra.
If you would like to learn more about 2:22 A Ghost Story, click here. For more about The Alexandra, click here.
Want to read more of my reviews? Check out the last time I reviewed a play (Home, I’m Darling) here.