an engaging and atmospheric night out!

Written by Danny Robins

Photo credit by Helen Murray

Review by David Bithell

Winner of BEST NEW PLAY at the WhatsOnStage Awards, Kevin Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Chicago) and Stacey Dooley (TV presenter and Strictly winner) star as fictional couple Sam and Jenny in this edge-of-your-seat supernatural thriller. Dooley reprises her role from her stage debut in the 2024 West End production, with Clifton joining her in venues across the country throughout 2025. They’re joined by Grant Kilburn (2:22 A Ghost Story) as Ben and Shvorne Marks (Three Little Birds, Get Millie Black) as Lauren.

When this play was announced on the schedule at The Regent Theatre in Hanley, it was one that was penciled in right away, especially as it had a huge significance to my sister and I. In 2012 on the 4th December at 02:22am our mum sadly lost her battle.

The Regent Theatre provides a suitably grand setting for 2:22: A Ghost Story: its art-deco charm, spacious auditorium, and good sight lines help to heighten the tension in Danny Robins’ ghostly thriller. Audiences arriving in the early evening already sense something is stirring — the lights, the hushed murmurs, the anticipation — and this production mostly delivers on that promise.

The play centres on Jenny, who is convinced her new home is haunted — every night at exactly 2:22am she hears movement, a man’s voice, something unsettling involving her baby’s room. Her husband Sam leans sceptical; then they host friends Lauren and Ben, and the night becomes a test of nerves, belief, and the boundary between what's explained and what’s supernatural. The premise is simple but the unsettling build-up works really well.

What is strong is the way the tension escalates: small, almost domestic disturbances — footsteps, strange noises, the rustling in the walls — slowly give way to more chilling, ambiguous signs. The moments of silence are as powerful (or more so) as the moments of noise or jump-scares. The gradual layering of doubt — is it pipes? a fox? the mind playing tricks? — keeps you leaning forward in your seat.

Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton

In this touring version, the cast of Kevin Clifton and Stacey Dooley Grant Kilburn and Shvorne Marks show good chemistry. Stacey’s role demands both fragility and strength: sleepless nights, maternal anxiety, fear, but also resolve. Shvorne (if she is in that role) brings a believable weight of exhaustion and dread. Kevin’s scepticism is a harder act: the character must be firm without becoming a caricature. Grant Kilburn gives his moments of rationality and conflict believable texture.

Lauren (Marks) and Ben (Kilburn) act as foils: Lauren’s more analytical, sometimes dismissive, sometimes sympathetic; Ben is more open to the possibility of the supernatural. Their dynamics bring out the human conflicts just as much as the ghostly ones: friendship, jealousy, class differences, belief vs. science. Some arguments feel loud, perhaps more so than needed for dramatic payoff, but that is eased by quieter, more intimate moments where Jenny’s (Dooley) fear is internalised.

Shvorne Marks and Grant Kilburn

One of the show’s strengths is atmosphere. The set (which is one of the best set designs I have witnessed at the Regent), is cleverly designed to feel like a real apartment with cracks — the familiar becoming unfamiliar. Lighting plays a big role: dim corners, sudden shifts, flickers, shadows that loom. Sound design is even more crucial — the creaks, rustles, occasional loud shrieks — and this production uses them well. At the Regent, the acoustics allow for those sharper scares without overwhelming those around you.

The red digital clock motif (counting inexorably to 2:22) carries symbolic weight: it's a reminder of the unseen deadline, the moment when all the tension must either resolve or snap. It adds urgency.

Some of the horror themes are familiar — foxes, strange noises in the night, sceptical partner, guests who act as outsiders. If you’ve seen this genre often, you might anticipate certain beats. But this isn’t necessarily a failure; it’s more that you’ll feel some of the twists coming, though possibly not the ultimate resolution.

Overall, all told, 2:22: A Ghost Story at the Regent Theatre is an engaging, atmospheric evening out. It might not redefine the ghost story, but it reminds us why we like them: the fear, the anticipation, the human frailty, the uncertainty. It’s a show that will make you glance at clocks, listen for footsteps when you get home, question what you heard when the lights were off.

Kevin Clifton

If you enjoy suspense, psychological horror rather than gore, and twists, it’s well worth attending. If you lean toward more visceral horror or stories that subvert genre entirely, you might find it a bit conventional in places. But in a confident tour production with willing audience, it delivers more than enough chills.

2:22, A Ghost Story is at the Regent Theatre in Hanley until Saturday 4th October 2025.

For tickets go to 2:22 A Ghost Story | September 2025 | Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke | ATG Tickets

In memory of Christine Bithell, 1951-2012.