Review: 2:22 A GHOST STORY, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

If you go to 2:22 A Ghost Story expecting traditional spine-chilling phantoms, you will be disappointed. Renowned in the West End for starry casts and numerous awards, 2:22 A Ghost Story isn't really a ghost story at all. Far from the horror genre, the piece is an amusing but long-winded exploration of how we define ghosts and view ghost believers... with some overused jumpscares.

Married couple and new parents Sam (Nathaniel Curtis, star of It's a Sin) and Jenny (Louise Lytton) have moved into a flat in London. Despite the dying wishes of a former owner to keep the place intact, the couple have completely renovated it. Jenny is convinced the flat is haunted - every night at 2:22am she feels a disturbing presence and hears spooky noises on her baby monitor. Sam, the ultimate skeptic and mansplainer, continuously dismisses her concerns as they aren't scientifically possible.

When Sam's old friend Lauren (Charlene Boyd) and her beau Ben (Joe Absolom) visit for dinner, they all decide to stay in the flat until 2:22am to see if Jenny's claims are legitimate. All the actors do a great job - the relationship between realist Sam and ghost-believer Ben is particularly comical and cleverly portrayed, evolving from snarky comments into a full-blown argument. Lytton's determination to prove her husband wrong is clear, Boyd's deterioration into drunkenness is both amusing and sympathy-inducing. Anna Fleischle's set is divinely meticulous, Ian Dickinson's sounds are appropriately suspensful and are beautifully complimented by Cindy Lin's costumes.

However, what unfolds is a perplexing cross between a dark comedy, a farce, a pseudo-psychological study and a romantic TV sitcom. There are multiple plotholes, anger lashouts that come out of nowhere and relationship drama that feels irrelevant. All characters lack depth and feel like plot devices chugging the story along.

The play is funny, well-acted and a good night out, but don't expect anything wildly profound... or a horror piece.

2:22 A Ghost Story is at the Festival Theatre until 30 September, then touring

Photo Credit: Johan Persson