Review: 2:22 A GHOST STORY, Theatre Royal Brighton

2:22 A Ghost Story has made a bit of a mark for itself in its regularly rotating cast – often well-established actors known more widely for their off-stage work. As the show sweeps into its Brighton leg of the tour, the cast du jour boasts Joe Absolom, Charlene Boyd, Nathaniel Curtis and Louisa Lytton.

Seemingly crafted as one long act split into two halves, 2:22 A Ghost Story is centred around Jenny (Lytton), who reveals that she’s been hearing spooky sounds at night as her infant sleeps. As her husband - the cerebral and patronising Ben (Curtis) – mocks her in disbelief, the tension between them builds to an explosive level. This tension is amplified by the presence of Ben’s college friend Lauren (Boyd) and her new beau (Absolom) who seem to have some secrets of their own to share.

Act 1 gets off to a slow start. The character development takes a while to establish itself and at times the cast feel like they’re not yet entirely comfortable in these characters. With the exception of Absolom who brings a smarmy swagger to the group and you immediately understand who Ben is…or at least, who he is trying to be. That being said, Act1 closed to rapturous applause, which isn’t something often seen outside of a large-scale musical with a belty Act 1 finale, so there’s clearly something here that captures the imagination of the masses.

Act 2 feels much more rounded and as is so often the case, all four actors shine brighter the angrier their characters become. This anger, we must assume, has been building over many years because it’s almost disproportionately explosive. What we do see more explicitly over this 1hr40 is that this is an extremely dysfunctional group of friends with some problematic dynamics. I would highly recommend some intense counselling. There’s a darkness to them, which is more toe-curling than any scream ever could be and by the end I was fully invested in these relationships. Can we have a spin-off?

The blend of sounds and visuals to punctuate moments of horror throughout are very simple, very loud, and bordering on farcical. It does the job though as I jumped out of my skin on multiple occasions, so no complaints from me.

If – like me - you’ve successfully managed to avoid the spoilers, the ending is suitably surprising and not one that I personally predicted. I suspect the majority of the audience agreed with me because as the big reveal happened, the air in the auditorium almost felt thick with surprise and confusion as we all digested what we’d just learnt. It’s one of those plays that has an extended life past the curtain call – it burrows into your brain, and you take it home with you try to relive it and unpick all of the tiny hints that you missed.

2:22 A Ghost Story is a well-crafted if sometimes-sluggish spook-fest and given that the night this review was based on was – joyfully - a total sell-out, I think the people have firmly spoken here. Definitely worth a trip, and even a second to spot all the clues you missed.

2:22 A Ghost Story is at Theatre Royal Brighton until October 28.

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