2:22 – A Ghost Story (NHB Modern Plays)

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I almost regret reading it since it would probably be more enjoyable to watch without having read it. But the script is rife with plot holes and some persnickety pacing challenges (it'd probably be more effective as a 100 minute rollercoaster with no intermission). Since then, several celebrity cast members have adorned previous casts including Tom Felton, Matt Willis and Lily Allen to name a few.

The success of Danny Robins’s super-smart script and story is his clearly-evident love of the ghost story genre. It’s also really funny, and you can take a lot away from this play because, ultimately, we’re looking at relationships and people’s viewpoints and beliefs.For Robins, the scares come from keeping things grounded and having the characters drive the story – that’s why he cites films like “The Babadook” or the long-running play “The Woman in Black” as resonating with him. From 15 August 2023 to 10 September 2023, the Singapore Repertory Theatre staged the play directed by Daniel Jenkins.

The ending is a gut punch, a twist that I was not expecting and couldn’t help but audibly responding to. The play takes place over one night while the characters try to find out what is happening at 2:22 over the last few nights. The genre is much more at home in the pitch dark of movie houses, where viewers can scream anonymously while comforting themselves with fistfuls of buttered popcorn.It's a brilliant hook, a blinking, ever-present reminder of the moment the characters and the audience are both waiting for with bated breath. Written by Danny Robins is pretty damn good and is simplistic in it's approach but impactful on it's conclusion. On-stage action waxes and wanes but the mounting sense of dread is relentless" adding that he "is well-versed in what makes scary stories scarier, and uses that to brilliant effect here" and praising his "adept writing of emotionally charged two-handers, which provide a useful toehold into the characters’ psychological universe".