Stuck In A Spooky Lift with… The cast of 2:22 – A Ghost Story

The very special, standalone Irish production of 2:22 – A Ghost Story produced for Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre is now running until 11 August. Written by award-winning writer Danny Robins, creator of the hit BBC podcast ‘The Battersea Poltergeist’, and starring a stellar cast featuring Shona McGarty (Eastenders) as Jenny, Jay McGuiness (The Wanted) as Ben, Colin O’Donoghue (Once Upon A Time, The Tudors) as Sam and Laura Whitmore (Love Island, Finding Joy) as Lauren.

As this supernatural thriller delves into haunted houses, belief and scepticism and real frights, we sat down with the cast to get their take on some paranormal questions.

Who or what would you be most scared to be stuck in a lift with?

Colin: The Devil. If you’re going to go in, you might as well go in hard.

Shona: Wasps. That’s my big fear. I hate them. If I see a wasp, I’ll cross the road. I’m like “Bye”.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Shona: Yes. I’ve not had an experience with one yet. I’d love to see one, I love the paranormal. I’m going on a ghost investigation on Monday in Wicklow Jail.

Jay: I think life after death could be a possibility in some form. I think that things that have passed on from this life might be able to return but I have no idea and I don’t think I’ve ever had any experience like that. Whenever someone is telling me a ghost story, I’m always reading their face to try to work out whether they believe what they are saying, are they embellishing a bit, are they a bit confused or are they telling it with their whole soul and that they believe that’s what happened. So I don’t know but I guess I’ll find out one day.

Laura: I believe in something too. I think you have to. It’s nice to believe in something – it helps you get through.

What’s the best Hallowe’en costume you’ve ever worn?

Colin: I love Hallowe’en costumes. When I was a teenager I remember dressing up as The Crow and thinking that was brilliant. It was one of my favourite films.

Jay is sneaking up in the background behind Shona.

Shona: I love Hallowe’en too. It’s my favourite time of year. Mine would be Maleficent –

Jay jumps up from behind Shona and scares her.

Shona: (Laughing) Can I swear on this?

What is something you aren’t scared of that other people are?

Colin: Getting up on a stage in front of 1,200 people. I am still pretty scared of it!

Shona: Oh yeah I’m scared of that too. I’ll say spiders, I’m not scared of spiders. I don’t see the fuss.

What would you do if you found out your house was haunted?

Colin: I think one of my houses might’ve been haunted. I think we might’ve had something in one of the places. We had it blessed, as is tradition so I wasn’t too scared. I wouldn’t fancy living anywhere with a poltergeist I don’t think. We used to have a cat and I’d walk in the middle of the night and go into the kitchen, it’d simply be sitting on the edge of the couch about three feet from the wall just staring and then it would look as you walk in and look at you stare at the wall. Animals can see things.

Laura: I think the 3Olympia is haunted. I think most theatres are, when you think about how old they are and the amount of people that have come through here. I’d like to think it’s a friendly ghost because people would’ve had nice experiences. Particularly, Dublin is interesting because so many things happened in the city. If you think about how long this theatre has been here for, you have the gorgeous Maureen’s Bar, Maureen who passed away a few years ago. I like to think that she’s still knocking around and pulling pints behind the bar, looking out for us all and keeping an eye on us.

Were there any local ghost stories in the area you grew up in?

Colin: Oh yeah there’s tons where I grew up in in Drogheda. There’s always ghost stories around everywhere. There were stories of the foxes in Gormanston College… when one of the Brothers died, all of the foxes would supposedly go up to the castle and howl at the door. That’s how they knew the priest was dead apparently. My wife’s dad saw it once, just loads of foxes.

2:22 – A Ghost Story runs at 3Olympia Theatre until 11 August 2024. Tickets are on sale now HERE.

Captioned and Audio Description performances are available. For more information on these shows, contact [email protected].