2:22: A Ghost Story at Leeds Grand Theatre Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Jenny Bray

I went to tonight’s show not knowing the plot, which was definitely for the best as it kept the suspense going about what the twist/s would be right from the start!

This show is a bit of a ‘newbie’ in the theatre scene but has been running consistently since it first aired in 2021. It has been nominated for 3 Olivier awards. Kudos to the writer, Danny Robins, for the plot and then to the team who set the sound (Sound Designer – Ian Dickinson), lighting (Lighting Designer – Lucy Carter) and illusions (Chris Fisher) to the best effect to create scary moments throughout the whole show.

Jenny (Shvorne Marks) has been at home with 11 month old baby Phoebe for a few days as her husband, Sam (James Bye) has been working away. They managed to buy the house below market value as the old lady they bought it from wanted the right people in her house not just anyone. They promised to look after the house and she left them a lot of her and her deceased husband’s things. However, Jenny and Sam have taken walls down and are in the process of extensively refurbishing and redecorating it, breaking their promise to the lady they bought it from. Jenny has been hearing things she can’t explain during the few days that she has been there alone with just 11 month old Phoebe for company and now believes the house is haunted. ‘

The show centres around the downstairs of the house and a dinner party with their friend Lauren (Natalie Casey) and her new boyfriend Ben (Grant Kilburn). Jenny tells the others what she thinks she has heard and felt, which leads to intense discussions about whether ghosts exist. She is convinced that they need to stay up until 2:22 to investigate and she convinces Lauren and Ben to stay until then to help her find out.

The stage setting remains the same throughout, as an open plan living space which includes the lounge, dining area and kitchen. There are large patio doors out into the garden, where a shed can be seen. There is also a door that leads to the entrance hall, where the stairs to get upstairs are. There are various signs of renovation, such as exposed beams draped with dust sheets and partly painted walls. Above the door to the entrance way and in the kitchen are digital clocks that brightly show the time in red. These go mental a few times during the show but are mainly used to show the time of the night progressing as the dinner party does. There is a baby monitor in view, often on the coffee table, which has noises from Phoebe coming through it on a regular basis, leading to someone going up to check on her. There are also loud screams/screeches that come from the garden every now and then (explained as foxes fornicating). These noises sometimes intercept at unexpected times or with bright flashes, adding to the scare element.

I particularly enjoyed Natalie Casie as Lauren, often called ‘Loz’. She was depicted as drinking heavily as the night went on, which led to prancing around and silly antics. Her boyfriend Ben was also a funny character, who has stories about being brought up in the area when it wasn’t so ‘up and coming’. He questions some of the friendship elements and aspects causing tension between the others, who have all known each other since their University days. All the characters felt very ‘real’ and helped you almost feel like you could be part of the dinner party with them.

There are various comments made to Jenny as to whether she is just imagining things as an exhausted Mum with a young child, which sounded fairly plausible as I remember those early days of sleepless nights and constant exhaustion!

The lighting and sound effects add to the atmosphere and there are several moments designed to scare the audience, which use bright lighting and loud sound. It was funny seeing some of the audience’s reactions to these.

The ‘costumes’ are just standard clothes for a casual dinner get together with friends. There are no changes throughout the show, as it depicts one continuing evening of a get together from start to finish. This may not sound exciting, but the plot definitely kept me interested and intrigued and the 2 hours went really quickly.

Leeds Grand Theatre is in central Leeds, with plenty of parking nearby, including Templar Street car park, which is a short walk away. There are bus lanes until 7pm around there so you need to be careful which route you take to get to the car park.

I really enjoyed the show, including the plot twist ending. At the very end, the wall has red words illuminated on it saying, ‘Shhhhhh… don’t tell’ as to tell the end would spoil it. I did leave the theatre with more questions than I had answers for though, which led to a confused drive home trying to unpack the clues to the conclusion! There had actually been several subtle signs throughout the show once you start analysing it! This may not be the show for you if you are easily scared, very religious and don’t like your religion challenging or don’t like thinking either about whether ghosts exist or about paranormal activity! If you just enjoy a bit of a scary movie or show and enjoy considering the storyline and the curiosity of contemplating what the plot twist/s may be as the show goes on then this is definitely one for you.

Rating: 4.5/5

Tickets cost from £27 to £61

2:22 A Ghost Story is on at the Leeds Grand between 11th and 16th May 2026.
For more information or to book tickets visit;
https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/222-2026/
or call the Box Office on 0113 2430808
Leeds Grand Theatre box office; 46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NU