2:22 A Ghost Story by Danny Robins

Jenny and Sam – and their baby Phoebe – have recently moved into their new home. But something feels frightening and wrong. Very wrong. Over the baby monitor, at 2:22 every night, Jenny hears footsteps around her daughter’s cot.

The play follows one intense night as Jenny, increasingly convinced the house is haunted, invites friends Lauren and Ben over for a house‑warming dinner that quickly turns into a debate about belief, scepticism, and the things people refuse to admit to themselves. Wine flows, old tensions surface, and the four characters circle around their own fears as much as the mystery in the nursery.

They agree to stay awake until 2:22 a.m. to confront whatever is happening. As the night deepens, foxes scream outside, tempers flare, and long‑buried secrets push their way into the open. The play balances humour, tension, and emotional volatility, building toward a final moment that forces each character to face what they believe—and what they fear.

Character Focus for Casting

• Jenny — A new mother on edge; intuitive, brittle, emotionally exposed. Needs an actor who can shift between vulnerability and fierce conviction.
• Sam — Rational, grounded, determined to explain everything away. Carries unspoken guilt that leaks through his certainty.
• Lauren — Warm, charismatic, and socially dominant; uses humour to deflect her own insecurities.
• Ben — Blunt, provocative, and sceptical; enjoys the argument more than the truth.

Tone & Style

A pressure‑cooker domestic thriller: naturalistic dialogue, escalating tension, and a sense that something unseen is always just out of frame. Performers must handle rapid tonal shifts—from comedy to confrontation to dread—while maintaining the claustrophobic intimacy of a single‑room.

Audition Pieces:

• Act 1 Scene 2     Page 28 from Ben’s line ‘Sorry’, to the end of the scene on page 37.
  The audition focus here will be on all four characters
• Act 1 Scene 3     From the bottom of page 46 Lauren’s line ‘They went to get wine’, to the top of page 52, Jenny’s line ‘There’s something here, Lauren.’
  The audition focus here will be on Lauren and Jenny
• Act 2 Scene 4     Page 65 from Ben’s line ‘You’re wrong. And I have proof’, to the bottom of page 72, Laurens line, ‘They’re back’.
  The audition focus here will be on Ben and Sam

This amateur production is produced by The Bancroft Players, in association with Nick Hern Books, and is proudly sponsored by Raymond James Hitchin

Audition Dates

Rehearsals