Review: 2:22 A Ghost Story at The Bristol Hippodrome
Posted on: 19 Aug 2025Danny Robins’ 2:22 A Ghost Story is probably one of the most talked about play’s in recent years. And it’s one that I’ve had the chance to see before, but a previous casting. So when it was announced it’d be touring the UK, we were thrilled to be invited.
The mix of supernatural suspense and drama is played on throughout the entire show. I’ve never laughed so hard and been so scared in such a short space of time. Continuously funny, but constantly scary.
Each revival seems to bring a fresh energy. In this run, Stacey Dooley makes her theatrical stage debut, and it’s fair to say she smashed it. Combined with the show’s now-iconic set design, Dooley’s performance kept the audience in suspense all night long. The set, designed with painstaking attention to detail, remains one of the production’s most iconic imageries. With the whole play carried out in one room. The setting is exactly what you’d expect from a suburban family home — cozy, familiar and half way into being fixed up. But the way they manage to change the whole feeling of the room as the show goes on is precisely what gives the production its unease. As the clock ticks toward 2:22, the seemingly safe space morphs into something far more sinister. Harsh lighting choices bathe the house in ominous hues, and the windows — so ordinary in daylight — become portals of dread as the show shifts to night time. The show’s use of the darkness in the theatre is definitely part of what contributes to the success of each and every jump scare.
Into this world steps Dooley, taking on the role of Jenny, a new mother convinced that her home is haunted. Known to many as an accomplished documentary presenter and journalist rather than a stage actress, Dooley brings a refreshingly natural energy to the role. Her Jenny feels utterly authentic, a woman whose anxieties are rooted not in melodrama but in genuine fear — the fear of being unheard, dismissed, and left to shoulder the unknown alone. Her diction was flawless throughout the show and not one word was lost. Her display of fear that grew from the start of the dinner party till 2:22 was the best I’ve seen in this show.
Dooley’s performance is so effective because she doesn’t try to overplay the supernatural element. Despite it being the underlying theme. Instead, she leans into Jenny’s humanity, her warmth, her brilliantly devilish sense of humour. But then her increasingly raw frustration as her husband and friends dismiss her throughout the evening and belittle her fears. Her voice, steady but with flickers of doubt, and her physical presence, always grounded, kept us invested even when the arguments among the characters escalated.
Of course we’ll be keeping the ending a tip top secret!
2:22 A Ghost Story continues at The Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 23 August 2025 - GET TICKETS HERE
Article by:
Xavier - born in Italy, raised in Spain, and now calls the UK home. Co-owner of La Scala, an Italian Deli-Coffee hub in Bristol. Sommelier trained with a passion for the West End.
