2:22 A Ghost Story

Milton Keynes Theatre

After having six engagements in five different West End theatres from 2021 to 2024, and a UK tour to boot, ‘2.22 A Ghost Story’ is one supernatural spooker than doesn’t seem to want to give up the ghost any time soon. Theatreland has always run a bit thin on ghost stories, aside from ‘The Woman In Black’, and, well, ‘Ghost Stories’, and ‘2.22’ seemed to catch the public’s imagination, pitching itself as a ‘spirited’ modern classic and hoping to keep audiences’ spines firmly tingled. Back on the road again, a new production hit the road in August, with real-life couple Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton at the helm, and is ready to put some bump into the night at Milton Keynes Theatre this week.

Married couple Jenny (Dooley) and Sam (Clifton) have recently moved into an old house and are in the middle of renovations. One night, at the titular 2.22am, Jenny experiences noises and sensations that she can’t explain. Recently returned from a work trip, Sam is the ultimate sceptic, and refuses to believe anything is wrong, but Jenny hears the same noises again at 2.22am over the next couple of nights. Deeply unsettled and worried for the safety of their daughter, Jenny invites their friend Lauren (Shvorne Marks) around for dinner, along with her boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn), who is a firm believer in the supernatural. As the evening progresses and the drinks flow, Jenny asks the guests to stay until 2:22 a.m. to experience what she believes is a haunting, despite Sam’s best efforts to explain it all away.

Like any good ghost story, ‘2:22’ asks its audiences to keep its secrets as they exit the theatre, which is a wise decision, as the play’s twist is undoubtedly its strongest asset which few will see coming. The issue is that the rest of the play preceding it is significantly weaker, diminishing the power of the payoff when everything before it feels laboured, drawn-out and muddled. Writer Danny Robins (of ‘Uncanny’ fame) is obviously no stranger to the supernatural world, but doesn’t write living characters anywhere near as successfully, giving us a largely uninteresting foursome who are difficult to engage with. Robins does raise some interesting debates and viewpoints, and the opposing arguments of rationality and science versus spirituality and faith are undeniably interesting, but in the mouths of these characters, they fall flat and aren’t explored as fully as they could be. Remaining spoiler-free, the setup of the ultimate twist is also clumsily done at times, often defying logic and leaving itself open to holes. ‘2:22’ may appear clever on first viewing, but it does falter under a second visit, and it’s a story that has been told more effectively elsewhere.

Directed by Matthew Dunster and Gabriel Vega Weissman, it’s a slick production with some great set design by Anna Fleischle feeling modern and fresh. Tonally, the play doesn’t get the balance of ease and tension quite right, and relies on lazy loud use of “screams” (explained as foxes in the garden) to create jumps, rather than ratcheting up any tension under its own storytelling. Even as the time creeps towards 2:22 a.m. and the characters decide that a séance is a good idea, there’s little to generate any real fear, despite some solid design of sound (Ian Dickinson) and lighting (Lucy Carter).

Stacey Dooley returns to role of Jenny, having played it previously at the Gielgud Theatre last year, and does a perfectly fine job, though these aren’t characters that offer much for actors to work with. Clifton is equally fine, especially for not having his usual song-and-dance skills to hide behind, and the two obviously share a very natural chemistry. Shvorne Marks and Grant Kilburn inject a bit of personality as Lauren and Ben respectively, but again never really get to show off.

‘2:22’ has all the elements for a fun night out with decent production values and performances, but it’s a dissatisfying play that isn’t delivered with as much skill or effectiveness as it could be, and narrowly saved by a solid twist. Neither quite scary enough, funny enough, or interesting enough, it’s more “good” than “goosebumps”.

‘2:22 A Ghost Story’ runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 20th September, before continuing on its UK tour into 2026.

Cast Note – Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley are scheduled to perform at all venues up to 29th November 2025. New casting for the 2026 leg of the tour is still to be announced.

Full details here:

https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre