By Joy Mckay
2.22 A Ghost Story was written by Danny Robbins and launched in the West End in 2021. It first came to my attention as it was heavily advertised on the escalators on The Tube in London with Tom Felton taking the lead role. The posters said very little but the bold black background and red lettering indicated something scary, something menacing and, as a fan of horror and the supernatural, I was keen to see what it was all about. I didn’t manage to catch that West End run so was pleased when I heard the show was touring and coming to Southampton.
The small touring cast are well known from television with Louisa Lytton (Eastenders) playing the lead role of Jenny, Nathaniel Curtis (It’s a Sin) as her husband Sam with Charlene Boyd (Crime) playing her friend Lauren and Joe Absolom (Doc Martin) as boyfriend Ben.
The play is set in a run down Victorian House, this one happens to be in London but you’d easily recognise the set as the type of house you’d find along many seaside towns along the south coast. Once a family home, then too big to maintain but suddenly the centre of an area of gentrification. And Jenny and Sam are exactly that couple. Newcomers with money, what we would have called yuppies in an area Ben had grown up in when it was rough. The characters are identifiable, not particularly pleasant people, but definitely people you have met. And their relationships with one another aren’t particularly pleasant either. There are depictions of domestic abuse (verbal and physical) which may be upsetting for some.
And I can’t say much more without giving clues to the plot. It’s a bit like The Mousetrap in that you’re asked not to tell. But I can say there are a lot of jump scares to which to audience reacted very strongly.
If you want some Halloween entertainment then this is a great spooky night out. I would suggest not sitting in the stalls as much of the action happens sitting at a dining table and it’s often difficult to see if, like me, you are on the shorter side.
Tickets for 2:22 A Ghost Story (Tuesday17– Saturday 21 October 2023) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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