Jump Scares and Gin: A Modern Classic Spooks Richmond

Danny Robins’ supernatural juggernaut, 2:22 A Ghost Story, has materialised at the Richmond Theatre as part of its 2026 UK tour, proving that even after multiple West End transfers and cast rotations, its ability to make an audience jump out of their skin remains fully intact.

The premise is a masterclass in slow-burn tension. Jenny (Shvorne Marks) is convinced her newly renovated Victorian house is haunted, specifically at the eponymous time of 2:22 AM. Her husband Sam (James Bye), an insufferably logical academic, dismisses her fears as sleep-deprived hysteria. When they host old friend Lauren (Natalie Casey) and her new boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn) for a dinner party, the evening devolves from polite conversation into a high-stakes vigil to see if the "ghost" actually appears.

The Cast: Chemistry and Conflict

• Shvorne Marks (Jenny): Moving from the role of Lauren in previous tours to playing the lead here, Marks is the production's emotional anchor. Her portrayal of maternal anxiety and mounting dread is visceral and grounding.

• James Bye (Sam): Bye plays the skeptic with a frustratingly realistic arrogance. You’ll spend half the play wanting to shout at him, a testament to his performance.

• Grant Kilburn (Ben): Bringing a much-needed warmth and "salt-of-the-earth" perspective, Kilburn’s Ben offers a fascinating class-based friction against Sam’s snobbery.

• Natalie Casey (Lauren): Providing the majority of the night’s comic relief, Casey navigates the character's descent into a gin-fueled haze with sharp timing, though some of the interpersonal history between the characters feels slightly less settled than in previous iterations.

The Richmond Theatre’s opulent, creaky architecture serves as the perfect companion to Anna Fleischle’s set design, a "gentrified" kitchen-diner featuring half-stripped walls and sleek glass doors that look out into an unsettlingly dark garden.

The real stars, however, are the sound and lighting designers. The scene transitions are punctuated by blinding red lights and ear-piercing screams (the "foxes" of the neighborhood) that ensure the audience never quite relaxes. While some may find the jump-scare transitions a bit "cheap," there is no denying their effectiveness in a packed house.

While the play relies heavily on its final "shattering" twist the play is high-energy thriller. It is a rare piece of theatre that manages to be genuinely scary while maintaining the pace of a sharp, witty dinner-party drama.