2:22 A Ghost Story – Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield

Writer: Danny Robins

Directors: Matthew Dunster and Gabriel Vega Weissman

2:22 A Ghost Story first premiered in London’s West End in 2021 and since then has gone on to haunt a multitude of West End theatres, in addition to having UK tours and international productions. It now returns to Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre on another extensive UK tour.

Danny Robins’ play is set in the new home of Jenny and Sam. After a few days home alone, with just her new baby, Jenny becomes convinced that the house is haunted. At this evening’s dinner party with friends Ben and Lauren, Jenny tries to convince everyone of her beliefs.

Robins’ script is perfectly adequate but not overly remarkable. Tension is built well but cheap jump scares are relied on very heavily. There are some laughs scattered throughout, but the play could easily be funnier. On the whole, Robins has done a good job at writing complex characters and he drip feeds us revelations at a good pace. The play is building to, what we expect to be, a big crescendo when the clock strikes 2:22, the time at which Jenny’s ghostly encounter has taken place for a few nights. The show ends very quickly though when the climax comes – another scene or two after the final moment might help to explain the logic of the play and give us some engaging insight into how Jenny and her friends come to terms with the new information that has been revealed.

Anna Fleischle’s set design is excellent. It grounds the play in a sense of reality. She brings to life this old house that Jenny and Sam are completely renovating (which becomes a key plot point) very well. Cindy Lim’s costumes work well to give us an insight into who each of the characters are.

The sound design comes from Ian Dickinson from Autograph and his work is certainly one of the main stars of the shows. Sound is used impeccably to build tension to frequent jumps which certainly get audience reactions, even if the show doesn’t entirely terrify the audience like other horror shows might. Lucy Carter’s lighting design is great – the set genuinely feels like it’s lit by the lights in the house. She manages to have enough lighting shifts to keep things looking interesting despite everything being set in one open plan kitchen/dining/living room.

Matilda James CDG and Annelie Powell CDG have assembled the cast for this production. Previous companies have included a wide variety of starry names including Cheryl, Tom Felton, Lily Allen, Jay McGuinness, Laura Whitmore, Stacey Dooley, Kevin Clifton, Matt Willis, James Buckley, Jake Wood, Colin O’Donoghue and many more. This company doesn’t necessarily have as many celebrity names as previous ones – we have four solid actors, some of whom have screen credits and most of whom have extensive stage credits.

Shvorne Marks is by far the best thing about this production. Her Jenny has strength and conviction in her beliefs, rather than simply being terrified and overly paranoid. She has a great stage presence and carries the show incredibly well – we immediately warm to her, which means we root for her and want to see her friends and husband believe her. Despite the show having been performed extensively, she makes the material feel brand new and her delivery is wonderfully natural.

EastEnders favourite James Bye stars as Sam. He has a great stage presence and balances being unlikeable and believable very well. We believe the relationship between Bye’s Sam and Marks’ Jenny – a fraught relationship but they clearly do love each other and want the best for their child.

Grant Kilburn gives a great performance as Ben, even if he’s perhaps a little too likeable in earlier scenes. He is a delight to watch perform and is definitely one to keep an eye out for in future work.

Natalie Casey takes on the Lauren, with a rather bizarre and quite unnecessary American accent. Lauren is a challenging role to play given she is drunk for almost the whole play, but unfortunately Casey is almost always too over the top in her characterisation – however, having seen the show before, one would suggest this is an issue with the direction more than with Casey as an actor. When Casey gets to some of the more emotionally charged moments, she begins to shine but never quite gets to a place where she’s entirely believable.

2.22 A Ghost Story is far from the best play ever staged but audiences are clearly enjoying it around the world. It is a relatable play, discussing topics that are relevant today and being grounded in reality with its design. If nothing else, it is worth seeing for Shvorne Marks’ powerhouse leading performance that will hopefully catapult her into stardom on stage.

Runs until 6th June 2026, before continuing on tour