Review of 2:22 A Ghost Story at Milton Keynes Theatre

2:22 A Ghost Story has had a truly remarkable success over a very short period of time. Danny Robins' hit play was first staged in August 2021 at the Noel Coward Theatre and since that time the show continued to play in London, moving on to four other theatre venues in the city before this UK Tour, now landing at Milton Keynes began. 2:22 A Ghost Story has also during that time provided roles for a diversity of performers, including Jake Wood, Lily Allen, Laura Whitmore and Cheyl among some of the constantly changing casts. The tour though has another new cast of four with Joe Absolom as Ben, Charlene Boyd as Lauren, Nathanial Curtis as Sam, and Louisa Lytton as Jenny. So, with 2:22 A Ghost Story garnering all that success, this must surely be a belter of a play?

Well, the quick answer is, not quite. Set during a housewarming with two friends, 2:22 A Ghost Story, relies greatly on fast-paced conversation and as a result, this requires a lot of overlapping of lines to make this work, and that part does. The crisp performances enable this to be a success and this is a definite credit to the cast. However, sadly, while a lot of the dialogue is witty and full of neat social comments that can strike home with the audience, it fails to create very endearing or interesting characters and some remain totally one-dimensional.

Young mother Jenny played by Louisa Lytton offers a nervy central performance as the one adamant that all is not as it seems within her and Sam's home. However, while you might have some sympathy initially, her character descends sadly rapidly into a screeching one. Her husband Sam, played by Nathaniel Curtis has a similar problem of one-dimensional characterisation, the know-it-all, refusing to budge on the ghost theory. Initially, in the first act, his continuous snideness and condescending nature provide some interest but the endlessness of the one-tone, like the other characters, just becomes tiresome.

The visiting friends are more interesting than the homeowners. Charlene Boyd as Lauren offers some depth and intrigue, quick to clear a glass of wine when no one is looking, she provides humour and the most humanity of the four. Finally however is the excellent Joe Absolom as Ben, the gruff cockney builder with a sharp wit, and without doubt the most appealing of the four, the play is all the stronger in the moments when he is the centre of attention.

It does have a great little set by Anna Fleischle which provides a home depicting decoration in progress while being packed with a mix of typical modern gadgets and decor that the modern thirty-something needs to have including an Alexa and some neat motion-sensitive lighting (very useful in the context of the play). Hidden within the set indeed are the threads of intrigue that slowly tell the story of Jenny and Sam and their journey towards 2:22 a.m.

There is also some crisp lighting design from Lucy Carter, including the startling red vision to obliterate the view of the stage at scene changes. This lighting coupled with some effective sound design from Ian Dickinson does create a great deal of atmosphere.

However, Danny Robins' play is often just at times like watching an above-average episode of Eastenders doing a ghost story theme with four characters you probably might not really like, shouting at or speaking far too loud at one another for a couple of hours. It is simply OK, but not highbrow theatre, and probably would work better as an edited 90-minute single act, when momentum isn't lost by the interval. Also, if only it could manage to bring a bit more eeriness to the story rather than mostly the abrupt, unnecessarily cheap jump scares, many of which just miss the mark, making up the majority of what few scares there are.

The play does culminate in a nice little twist which audience members may or may not have guessed as it goes along. Writer Robins is clever enough to drop a nice number of clues as it goes along and perhaps does actually offer quite a lot of interest ironically for a second viewing.

Overall though, it is safe to say that the producers of 2:22 A Ghost Story know exactly what they are doing. From the outset, they have made what is, an average supernatural play into a blockbuster stage show due to carefully creative populist casting and excellent publicity. The momentum of this has made it a must-see show, even if, quality-wise it isn't on a patch with any number of less successful shows out there. Packed theatres across the country are now rightfully benefiting from this as a result, and at the end of the day, that is no bad thing.

A slightly average play, which continues to rule in the world of populist theatre.
⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 3rd October 2023 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.

2:22 A Ghost Story runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 7th October 2023.

For further details about Milton Keynes see their website at http://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

Photos: Johan Persson