Page 12 - Demo

12 Phonebox Magazine | January 2026As she joins the UK tour of 2:22 A Ghost Story, Natalie Casey thinks it%u2019s the perfect show for right now. She told Phonebox Magazine why.%u201cWe%u2019re trying to make sense of a world that%u2019s becoming increasingly chaotic,%u201d says actress Natalie Casey, who has recently joined the hugely successful stage production of 2:22 A Ghost Story.%u201cAnd in times like this people often turn to the idea that there must be some kind of mystical, otherworldly reason why bad stuff is happening. Also, the world which we live in is being dragged in an increasingly ugly direction and a show like this offers some muchneeded escapism.%u201dPremiering in 2021, 2:22 is a chilling and gripping thriller revolving around young mother Jenny, played by Shvorne Marks and her husband Sam (James Bye), who have recently moved into a house that they are renovating. Every night at precisely 2:22am they hear strange, scary sounds, and Jenny is convinced the house is haunted but Sam is having none of it. Natalie plays Lauren, an old friend of the couple%u2019s who comes round for dinner with her new partner Ben, portayed by Gary Lucy. Belief and scepticism clash and the four of them decide to stay up until 2:22 to try and work out what%u2019s going on. The answer %u2013 and the play%u2019s ending %u2013 are both unexpected and shocking.The actress describes character Lauren as %u2018somebody who is very stoic and very intelligent but also she seems to live her life dependent on what other people think of her%u2019. She and Lauren, who works as a psychologist, share some common ground. %u201cI think that I am like Lauren in the way that I seek knowledge. I%u2019m interested in learning things, I%u2019m interested in academia and I%u2019m also very interested in the inner workings of the human mind. But other than that we%u2019re very different and I like that. It%u2019s part of the fun of this job.%u201d2:22 has since enjoyed seven seasons in the West End. With 12 replica productions worldwide, it has been seen by more than 1.1 million people in 17 countries across five continents. The show headed out on its first UK tour in 2023 and, for 2026, it is back on the road, returning to towns and cities it has previously played at, as well as visiting new venues.Natalie came to fame in 1996 as Carol Groves on Hollyoaks, went on to star in Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps and has worked extensively on stage. If she had to pick any highlights Abigail%u2019s Party would be right up there. %u201cIt was a seminal piece of British theatre that resonated with so many people,%u201d she says. %u201cI loved doing Rock/Paper/Scissors, which was three separate plays that took place in each of the theatres in Sheffield. And I also loved the 9 to 5 tour because I got to travel around the country %u2013 which I get to do again now with 2:22.%u201dJoining her for this run is Gary Lucy who also enjoys touring and has been to Northampton%u2019s Royal & Derngate, which the production is visiting, before.%u201cThe Royal & Derngate is a great theatre, so I can%u2019t wait to be back there. Northampton audiences know their theatre and I think they%u2019re going to love this play.%u201dGary didn%u2019t hesitate to say yes to playing Ben in the play.%u201cIt%u2019s a great part in such a fantastic, hugely successful play. There%u2019s such a buzz around it and Ben is an interesting character. He%u2019s a sceptic, he doesn%u2019t believe in ghosts and even with all these strange things going on in the house he clings on to logic.%u201cBut unlike him I%u2019m a believer,%u201d Gary adds. %u201cI%u2019m scared of my own shadow, afraid of the dark and I slept with a nightlight on until I was in my 20s.%u201dGrowing up in Chigwell in Essex, the family home was in a former psychiatric hospital that had been converted into residences. %u201cAnd it was like something out of Victorian times and very eerie,%u201d Gary recalls. %u201cThat probably wasn%u2019t the best place for me considering my jumpy nature.%u201dGary joined Hollyoaks as Luke Morgan in 1999 and it remains a career milestone. He also played Kyle Pascoe in Footballers Wives%u2019 and went on to star in The Bill, EastEnders and Casualty and competed in Dancing on Ice before taking on the role of Gaz in The Full Monty.%u201cThe last time I was on stage was in The Full Monty and I did that for three years on and off. Of course, 2:22 is a very different beast but I love throwing myself in at the deep end and it%u2019s wonderful to have the chance to travel around the country again, getting to visit places I%u2019ve been to before and ones that I haven%u2019t. Every audience is different and that%u2019s what keeps it fresh. It energises you.%u201d2:22 A Ghost Story is at Northampton%u2019s Royal & Derngate Theatre, 8th-17th January.