A Cambridge Haunting at the Arts Theatre
After its West End success, 2:22 A Ghost Story is set to scare at the Arts Theatre. We talk twists and tension with cast members Fiona Wade and George Rainsford
Words by Phoebe Harper
In recent years, Danny Robins, aka ‘the UK’s go-to ghost guy’, has had the nation gripped by ghost fever – whether that’s with his hit BBC podcasts Uncanny, Battersea Poltergeist and Witch Farm, or his supernatural stage thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story.
Now, following five record-breaking seasons at the Noël Coward, Gielgud, Criterion, Lyric and Apollo Theatres on London’s West End, 2:22 A Ghost Story is coming to the Cambridge Arts Theatre from 5 to 9 March.
Starring in two of the lead roles are George Rainsford (best known as a series regular in Casualty) and Fiona Wade, who became a household name after her long-running role in Emmerdale.
“We were both already huge fans of Danny Robins after listening to Uncanny. I love a good ghost story and had been fascinated by the success of the play, although I’d never seen it. As soon as I read the script, I knew I had to be involved,” says George. As Fiona echoes, “I’m absolutely obsessed with Uncanny! I was working on Emmerdale when I first heard about the play and I hadn’t put two and two together, but as soon as I realised Danny had written it, I was in.”
Despite his love of a good ghost story, George considers himself a sceptic while Fiona is a firm member of Team Believer. It’s a perspective that marries with their individual characters in the play: husband-and-wife duo Sam and Jenny.
As a young mother with a new baby, who is equally strong but also disturbed by frightening sounds in the house while her husband is away, Fiona describes the character of Jenny as ‘everything I have wanted to play as an actress’.
Meanwhile, George finds Sam to be ‘very self-assured, quite pompous and verbose’. As a teacher and writer, the character is loosely based on the play’s creator. “Although Danny is definitely much nicer!” reveals George.
We meet the young family on the night Sam returns from a work trip to find his wife frightened by the supposedly supernatural events taking place in the house. The topic causes tension between the two, before they are joined by their dinner party guests and discussion soon turns to the possibility of the paranormal.
“As soon as these guests arrive, Jenny is desperate to share her story. She’s still frightened by what she’s heard. But there’s this awkwardness and the relationship is strained even further,” Fiona elaborates. While belief clashes with scepticism, the group decides to stay up until 2:22am to find the answers.
What happens next is a twist that both Fiona and George absolutely refuse to budge on. “I love hearing the reactions from the audience afterwards because no one ever guesses where it was going to go!” George exclaims. “Throughout the show, there’s this underlying sense of foreboding, but as the audience you have absolutely no idea where it’s going.”
Aside from turning up the fear factor with regular jump scares and thought-provoking moments of contemplation on the supernatural, both describe the show as extremely funny, accessible and an undeniably entertaining night at the theatre – with something for everyone.
As Fiona surmises, “Whether you’re a believer or a sceptic, it’s definitely one of those shows where you’ll immediately want to go out for a drink afterwards to unpick everything and discuss your own theories about what you believe in.”
