2:22 A Ghost Story
Intimate plays with a small cast and a tightly focused storyline can be very compelling. 2:22 A Ghost Story falls squarely into that category with its contemporary supernatural narrative. Written by Danny Robins, of the Uncanny podcast fame, this is a tight 100 minutes tale of the perennial clash between those who believe in the supernatural versus those who maintain a logical and rational perspective. The set in a recently renovated house, the story unfolds in a single room; a modern living room diner. The protagonists become aware of some potential supernatural activity that takes place at 2:22 AM and decide to see for themselves what will or won’t happen. This is a dialogue driven story which covers a lot of ground and sometimes strays into wider social topics. There have been multiple UK productions since the plays London debut in 2021 as well as several notable international performances. I saw 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on Monday 15th June.
Intimate plays with a small cast and a tightly focused storyline can be very compelling. 2:22 A Ghost Story falls squarely into that category with its contemporary supernatural narrative. Written by Danny Robins, of the Uncanny podcast fame, this is a tight 100 minutes tale of the perennial clash between those who believe in the supernatural versus those who maintain a logical and rational perspective. The set in a recently renovated house, the story unfolds in a single room; a modern living room diner. The protagonists become aware of some potential supernatural activity that takes place at 2:22 AM and decide to see for themselves what will or won’t happen. This is a dialogue driven story which covers a lot of ground and sometimes strays into wider social topics. There have been multiple UK productions since the plays London debut in 2021 as well as several notable international performances. I saw 2:22 A Ghost Story at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley on Monday 15th June.
New Mother Jenny (Shvorne Marks) is alone at home with her baby. The house is still in the middle of being renovated and her husband Sam (James Bye) is currently away, working on the island of Sark. At 2:22 AM she here’s footsteps in the baby’s room as they pace round the cot. She also hears someone crying. Several days later her husband returns in time for a dinner party with two guests. Lauren (Natalie Casey) is an old friend of Jenny and Sam’s from university. She is accompanied by her latest boyfriend, Ben (Grant Kilburn), who lives locally in the village that Jenny and Sam have moved to. When Jenny reveals her supernatural experience, Sam being an academic is sceptical. Lauren is curious, while Ben is positively supportive, coming from a family of Christian Spiritualists. The two couples heatedly debate the tropes associated with hauntings and tempers begin to fray as 2:22 approaches. Events escalate raising the stakes and leading to a shocking revelation.
2:22 A Ghost Story initially wrong foots audiences by starting in a very light hearted manner. There is a lot of humorous banter between the main characters but as the story progresses, the dialogue focuses on discussing such matters as the afterlife, the nature of ghosts and why people want to believe. There is some astute social commentary about gentrification and class culture associated with housing. As the play progresses a palpable atmosphere of disquiet grows and it feels like things are heading in a bad direction. The story is regularly punctuated with jump scares, usually at the end of a scene. This initially works well but it does become somewhat repetitive. The main set is well designed and conveys the intended surrounding well, allowing the audience to clearly focus on the four main leads. 2:22 A Ghost Story is effectively streamlined, telling its tale in two 50 minute halves. There are several low key visual effects that work well within the confines of the story.
2:22 A Ghost Story feels like it is a very much of the moment. There has been an interesting resurgence in reports of paranormal activities since lockdown and the success of previous productions of 2:22 A Ghost Story shows there is a lot of interest in the subject. The current tour has a strong cast apart from Natalie Casey’s performance, which is somewhat underwhelming. Overall 2:22 A Ghost Story is a sound play with a supernatural theme. That said, there is more than just a haunted house mystery going on. Much of the plot is musings on the nature of the supernatural, its role in our society and why that is relevant to our lives. The main characters lean more towards archetypes, though this is necessary to explore some of the themes. As for the play’s ending, genre fans may be able to predict it although this doesn’t diminish its effectiveness. For those wanting a thoughtful exploration of the supernatural and a few scares, 2:22 A Ghost Story delivers both.
Uncanny: Fear of the Dark
Since its launch in 2020, the paranormal investigation show Uncanny, has become one of the most popular podcasts in the UK. It also has a substantial international audience. As a result, Uncanny has transitioned to television with two seasons being broadcast on BBC Two. Presenter Danny Robins has also written a tie-in book and there have been two previous Uncanny conventions, with a third scheduled for November this year at the ICC Birmingham. The fact that it is being held in an arena gives some indication as to the continuing interest in this show and its subject matter.
Since its launch in 2020, the paranormal investigation show Uncanny, has become one of the most popular podcasts in the UK. It also has a substantial international audience. As a result, Uncanny has transitioned to television with two seasons being broadcast on BBC Two. Presenter Danny Robins has also written a tie-in book and there have been two previous Uncanny conventions, with a third scheduled for November this year at the ICC Birmingham. The fact that it is being held in an arena gives some indication as to the continuing interest in this show and its subject matter.
Tonight, I had the great pleasure of seeing Uncanny: Fear of the Dark; a live stage show version of the podcast that at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley. This tour that has been travelling around the UK since November 2025. I was fortunate to buy the last two tickets to this event. Again, the full house reflects the popularity of the podcast. The audience was quite diverse with a broad range of ages. They were also quite lively and more than willing to enter into the spirit of the proceedings, screaming at the right parts and ironically going “ooh” whenever Danny eluded to something sinister or potentially scary.
Uncanny: Fear of the Dark follows the format of the podcast, with six cases being recounted and subsequently being analysed by Paranormal Psychologist Evelyn Hollow and Psychologist Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe. Video segments are shown and there are props and sets to recreate some of the aspects of the experiences being recounted. The show also includes a Q&A session with the team, as well as stories of a paranormal nature from audience members. All of which is efficiently covered in a two hour running time.
A major contributory factor to the popularity of Uncanny is writer and presenter Danny Robins. He is a likeable individual who excels at listening and giving his guest a sympathetic ear. He strives to be objective but regularly acknowledges the emotional power of the stories being told and recognises the difficulty and trauma that his guests have undergone. Whether the tales are truly paranormal is at times irrelevant, as it is abundantly clear that the experience has had a long and negative impact upon those who endured it. That facet of Danny’s personality was front and centre in tonight’s show but as this was a live event in front of an audience of fans there was a lot more levity and banter. However, this was not to the detriment of the show, in fact it helped defuse some of the tension that arose from some of the cases discussed.
As to the new cases under scrutiny, there were six. These varied from poltergeists activity, a UFO sighting and an encounter with a cryptid. Perhaps the most dramatic of these was a rather tragic tale of a husband whose wife was terminally ill in hospital and how he was awoken one night while at home, by her talking to him. This allegedly took place at the exact time that she died according to the doctors and nurses that attended to her. I’ll say no more as these cases will no doubt feature in the next season of the podcast but they were an interesting and varied selection.
Naturally, it was the elements that arise from this being a live show that made it entertaining and a slightly different beast to the TV and podcast versions of Uncanny. During the first case, as Danny was narrating an increasingly creepy tale, a fly landed on the digital projector and so the audience was treated to the silhouette of a fly crawling over the various images on the screen, much to the amusement of the audience. I immediately thought of The Amityville Horror from 1979. The stories from the audience were somewhat eclectic with one tale proving to be quite lengthy and possibly overblown in scope. I personally prefer more understated anecdotes as these seem more plausible. The show also featured more relaxed input from Evelyn and Ciarán. Both shared humorous stories and were more jovial than usual.
There were a few minor issues with the evening’s entertainment that weren’t quite to my liking. Prior to the show beginning, a compilation of songs with a supernatural theme were played. These tended to be rock and soft metal. Sadly, this idea didn’t really work instead of invoking a suitable atmosphere, it was simply low level noise on the periphery of your hearing. May be it was due to the acoustics of the venue. I also could have done without the audio based jump scare that punctuated the climax of some of the cases. These loud screams were a cheap trick and not quite in tune with the respectful tone of the show. There was also a sound glitch during the show which resulted in the proceeding being stopped for ten minutes. I’m sure I wasn’t the only audience member who thought this was some planned contrivance from Danny but it wasn’t.
Uncanny: Fear of the Dark was certainly an entertaining tangential version of the show and much of that was due to the enthusiastic audience and fans that attended. It is nice to be part of a community that can encompass a broad spectrum of opinions without it becoming acrimonious and partisan. Despite working within a clearly established formula, the diversity of cases keeps the show fresh and engaging. I certainly would go again to such a production and would even consider attending the convention later in the year. Fans of the show can also look forwards to a new official YouTube channel launching on April 9th. It will be hosting a new iteration of the show, called Uncanny Cold Case, in which classic paranormal cases such as Borley Rectory are explored. In the meantime, be you team sceptic or team believer, don’t have nightmares.