Psychological thriller in the frame of a chamber drama
Jenny and Sam have moved into a Victorian terraced house with their baby, where strange things are starting to happen.
When Sami is on business trips, Jenny hears voices through baby monitors at 2:22 a.m. He believes the house is haunted, but Sam finds a rational reason for everything.
They invite a couple of friends over, and together they decide to stay up until 2:22 a.m. to find out if something supernatural is really going on in the house.
“2:22 A Ghost Story is a well-constructed thriller that dares to play with creepy questions seriously and be humane despite its roughness,” says director Paavo Westerberg.
A rarity in the theatre
Written by British director Danny Robins , 2:22 A Ghost Story premiered in London in 2021 and has already been called a modern classic.
Westerberg thinks that the praise is due to the fact that the play is not limited to a genre-oriented drama, but resonates strongly in this time through its relatable characters.
Supernatural experiences occur in the midst of everyday life with a baby – and not, for example, in some remote old castle – which is a milieu familiar to everyone.
“The classic setting of the thriller genre with a modern twist speaks to the viewer in such a way that the viewer is guaranteed to get on board with an intensifying atmosphere,” Westerberg says. “But it’s up to the viewer how much you want to surrender to it. After all, it’s not fun on a ghost train if you look at it with a frown.”
Psychological thrillers are more familiar to most people from films, as the genre is rarely performed in the theatre. “We are partly on the verge of something new, and it is exciting to be able to make a chamber drama that combines the thriller genre, the audiovisual landscape and great roles for four actors.”
Ghosts or fantasy?
2:22 A Ghost Storyseeks an answer to the question of whether Jenny imagines the sounds coming from the baby monitor, and if not, how it is possible.
At the same time, the play invites us to reflect on our own beliefs and supernatural experiences: What do we believe in this time? Where do our belief systems come from? What does the world of spirits mean to whom?
The four characters in the play have slightly different attitudes towards the voices Jenny hears. The most critical point of view is represented by Sam, who works as a professor of physics, who believes that everything can be explained by the laws of nature. The guests also have supernatural experiences, so they don’t question Jenny’s observations as sharply.
Westerberg is fascinated by the fact that in 2:22 A Ghost Story , you get to tickle the subconscious areas of the human mind.
“Theatre is a place where both daytime reality and other realities can be collectively explored. There, we are allowed to step into our own subconscious together with others, and settling down to fears together can be easier and even cleansing and relieving. ”