THERE are dozens of suggestions as to where the saying ‘Once seen never forgotten’ comes from, but which ever one you subscribe to, the truth of the saying throws up a great problem for director Matthew Dunster as he brings Danny Robins’ thriller out on a tour to areas where it has already been seen.

How do you produce tension and bring shock horror moments to an audience, many of whom have seen the play before. To begin with you make sure that the set, costume, lighting and sound designs are not only ideal for the story, but produced perfectly on cue. This is achieved thanks to the work of Anna Fleischle, Cindy Lin, Lucy Carter and Ian Dickenson – an Edwardian House, coloured lead glass in the door, partially modernised by young married couple Sam, James Bye, and Jenny Shvorne Marks, and you have an excellent setting for our ghost story to develop.

Next you have to select a cast capable of creating characters that will blend ideally their distinctive personalities to fill their place in the twists and turns of the plot. James Bye brought a slightly arrogant air to the highly-educated, upwardly mobile Sam, who believes that there is a logical explanation for everything and can see no virtue in the emotional reactions of his sensitive wife Jenny. The anxiety that a new mother would feel when her senses tell her that at 2:22 am each night there is a threat to her child because they have disturbed the spirits of their house’s previous owners, was painted in vivid colours by Shvorne Marks. As if this clash of personalities was not enough, enter Sam’s former university colleague and girlfriend Lauren, (Natalie Casey) who is not quite the straightforward, happy, tippling spirit she first appears, and her working class boy friend Ben, who believes in the supernatural.

The plot unravels to reveal that some of the strange happening can indeed be explained by logic, but others defy reality tests. Like in all good thrillers, just when you have come down comfortably on one side of the argument a sudden unexpected event occurs, leaving you floundering for an explanation.

There are moments when you feel a little more action and less talk would be a better option, and that some of the arguments have been gone over too often before, but safely in the hands of this cast and production team, 2:22 A Ghost story rarely looses touch with its audience, keeping them engrossed, sometimes shocked and surprised at the next twist within the story.

If you can not enjoy the pleasures of this thriller in Bath, then you can catch up with it between 9th and 14th February, when it visits the Theatre Royal in Plymouth.

GRP