A third West End engagement at the Criterion Theatre, from 10 May to 4 September 2022, was announced without a casting confirmation.[6] On 29 March 2022, the new cast was announced, starring Tom Felton as Sam, Mandip Gill as Jenny, Beatriz Romilly as Lauren and Sam Swainsbury as Ben.[7] On 11 August 2022, an extension of the engagement at the Criterion was announced starring Laura Whitmore as Jenny, Felix Scott as Sam, Matt Willis as Ben and Tamsin Carroll as Lauren, running from 6 September to 8 January 2023.[8]
On 7 December 2022, the cast for its fourth West End engagement was announced. Cheryl, Hugo Chegwin, Louise Ford and Scott Karim will be playing at the Lyric Theatre, London from 21 January 2023 to 23 April 2023.[9][10] On January 24, 2023, it was announced that Hugo Chegwin was forced to withdraw from the show due to having flu during the rehearsal period. Understudy Ben Cutler performed the role for the first four shows before Jake Wood reprised his role as Ben from January 26-April 23, 2023.[11]
On 28 March 2023, a fifth West End production was announced to start at the Apollo Theatre on the 14 May 2023, with Sophia Bush as Lauren, Ricky Champ as Ben, Clifford Samuel as Sam and Jaime Winstone as Jenny. On Friday 21 July it was announced that Sophia Bush had withdrawn from the production for health reasons and that Frankie Bridge will be taking over the role of Lauren from August.[12]
On 19 April 2024, a sixth West End production was announced with Stacey Dooley and James Buckley expected to play Jenny and Ben. The show began performances from 25 May 2024 at the Gielgud Theatre and is scheduled for a limited ten-week summer run.[13][14]Joe McFadden and Donna Air joined the cast as Lauren and Sam respectively.[15]
A non-replica production ran in Singapore from 15 August 2023 to 10 September 2023, at the Singapore Repertory Theatre. It was directed by Daniel Jenkins. The cast consisted of Dominique De Marco, Shane Mardjuki, Sharda Harrison and Andy Tear.[24]
Another non-replica production opened on 8 September 2023 in Prague’s Drama Club, directed by Braňo Holiček. It features Romana Widenková as Jenny, Markéta Stehlíková as Lauren, Václav Šanda as Sam and Jan Hájek as Ben.[25]
Plot
Jenny and her husband Sam have recently bought a large house in Greater London that they are renovating. For several nights, at exactly 2:22 am, Jenny hears the sound of someone moving around the house and a man's voice crying, often via the baby monitor in her daughter's bedroom, and becomes convinced the house is haunted. Sam, being a sceptic and having been away on a work trip, insists there are more logical explanations for the noises. The couple hosts a dinner party for Lauren, an old university friend of Sam's, and Ben, her new boyfriend who has a belief in the supernatural. After discussing the strange noises, Jenny persuades the others to stay up until 2:22am to see what happens.[26][27]
In The Guardian, Kate Wyver wrote, "With a brilliant sense of mounting dread and just the right number of jump-scares, Danny Robins' new ghost story is a slick, chilling romp of a play", adding, "You wouldn't know this is Allen's first time acting in the West End. She is strong as the frantic, afraid and exhausted Jen [...] though it's in her moments of stillness that the fear best finds its way in".[26] She described the cast as "gleaming", noting "Fraser's Sam is so realistic it's hard to believe he's acting", that Wood "revels in [his role of Ben], drawing out the humour and diving into the mysticism", and that "Chan does a brilliant balancing act, shifting Lauren's loyalties throughout the night".[26] Wyver praised Robins' script, finding it "sharp, quick, and cleverly layered with clues. While his handling of horror is nothing new, it's done smartly, toying with the tropes. In one of the most chilling scenes, absolutely nothing happens yet the grand old room is electric with the fear of expectation".[26] She was less impressed with "an overuse of deafening fox screams" and found that "arguments occasionally escalate into one-note yelling" but judged that "neither of these things do much to detract from the steadily growing tension". Overall, she decided, "This show is not scary enough to cause nightmares, nor is it gruesome or graphic or gory; it's more human than the creepiest horror movies. But there are genuinely chilling moments, scary enough that the whole theatre is tense and pin-drop quiet. [...] Scary enough, perhaps, to have you turn on the light the next time you hear an unusual sound at night, just to check the time".[26]
Reviewing the play for The Independent, Annabel Nugent wrote, "Allen is superb as Jenny. Exhaustion thrums a fraction below her palpable fear – just visible enough in her performance to have you questioning Jenny's version of events. And while it may be Allen who everyone has come to see, she isn't bearing the weight alone", adding, "Fraser embodies the role of his condescending character so fully that you come away hating him just a little", noting that "Wood steals scenes as Ben, giving the comedic character punchlines that stick, as well as an unforeseen likeability", and judging that Chan "confidently treads a delicate line in one of the more complicated parts".[29] Nugent also found Robins's script "tight and layered. 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".[29] She concluded, "Much more than simply a successful first foray into theatre for one British singer, 2:22 stands on its own merits. Bar a handful of genuinely terrifying moments, it's hardly The Exorcist, but maybe that's for the best. There are enough scary things happening in the world right now to keep us up at night".[29]
