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2:22 A Ghost Story

 


When: 31st July 2022 (Matinee)

Where: Criterion Theatre, London

Writer: Danny Robins

Director: Matthew Dunster




At the end of this play you are asked not to spoil the ending, so I will make this as spoiler free as possible, although unknowingly there maybe a few minor spoilers, so be warned if you are planning to see the play and want to go in with a completely fresh mindset.

I don't want to say this is a bad play because I did enjoy it but it didn't live up to my expectations. I think the biggest disappointment was that it wasn't scary. It felt as if they had realised this as well and tried to make up for it through the scene changes, starting each with a flashing light and scream, which made a few audience members jump. The issue was it didn't really have any relevance to the story, and after the first time it just became repetitive and boring. The actuanl scene changes after this were also untidy and not thought out properly, the stage would go dark and we would watch as the stagehands moved everything into position for the next scene. Most of the audience just ended up having a short conversation during these moments as there wasn't really anything to watch. For me these scene changes were totally unnecessary. They didn't change setting so it was simply a case of moving on time and resetting props which could have been done in a much more exciting way, the chararcters would have had to clean up so why did the stage hands have to do it not the actors.

I went to see this play because I was interested in the ghost story idea, but I know many people will go because of Tom Felton and/or Mandip Gill. In my opinion Tom Feltons character was really annoying, this was intended but it got the point where I was so frustrated with him I had to try a block him out a little. I also didn't feel Feltons acting was that strong, he was good at being annoying, but there was little variation in emotion he didn't soften or become more forecful when he needed to be and there were moments where I could tell he was saying lines rather than believing the character. On the other hand Mandip Gill's performance was probably the strongest in the cast, she was able to make us fully believe she was a new mother who was completely paranoid. There was contrast in her emotions, we saw moments when she was much more free and moments where she was totally encapsulated by her fear. There were a few moments where she shouts that felt a little underdeveloped emotionally but overall, she gave a really strong performance. As for the other two, Beatriz Romilly was good but overacted and Sam Swainsbury understood his character well but showed little variation, however I feel this was perhaps written into his character.

Despite being disappointingly not scary, the story is good. When I initially left the theatre I had mixed feelings, but after taking time to process it a bit I think you have to look at it from a different perspective. This play is much more successful if you focus on the idea that it is about people and relationships like many other plays, and not ghosts. There is a lot of discussion about paranormal activity, it is definitely a leading theme, but it felt much more like it was being used as a device to open up the characters and create drama between them than actually being about ghosts. The story takes place across one night as the four characters decide to stay up until 2:22 to hear the noises Jenny has heard previously. So we only see 2:22 right at the very end at which point... (Spoilers). What I was pleasantly surprised about was how funny it was, there was definitely more humour involved than fear. The directing was fine, it is a realistic play so yes the characters are opening wine bottles and sitting on the sofa, and preparing dinner and so on, but no one seemed to stay still for longer than a few minutes. At some points it felt unnatural, the actors knew they had to be at a certain point at a certain time and were never fully able to just be the character before having to cross the stage and do something. It felt restrictive, but all the performers played it well, trying their hardest to make it as spontaneous as possible.

Look, I did enjoy myself we all know I love a trip to the theatre and this theatre was beautiful. I'm also not saying this was a bad play, I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure it was anything that special. Whilst using the ghosts as a device was different to other plays I have seen the actual bulk of the story didn't seem that different to lots of other stories, but I guess when you break anything down you could say they are all about people. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to see it again, or desperately try and reccomend it to everyone on the street (Unlike Prima Facie which everyone needs to see if they haven't already), but it would be interesting to watch it again from the perspective of it being about relationships and knowing the ending, to see whether my opinions change in any way.

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