Lily Allen to make West End debut in ‘bloody scary’ supernatural thriller

Singer will play a woman who believes her house is haunted

Lily Allen will make her West End theatre debut in a supernatural thriller this summer.

The “Smile” singer will star in 2:22 – a Ghost Story, a new play by Danny Robins, whose previous credits include the docudrama horror podcast The Battersea Poltergeist.

Allen called the show “frightening”, adding: “The live performance aspect of my career has always been the most thrilling part for me, connecting with a group of individuals and the spontaneity of whatever happens on the night. I feel that stepping into this play is an exciting natural extension of that and affords me the best of all worlds.”

Allen stars as Jenny, a woman who believes her new house is haunted. During a dinner with her husband Sam (Hadley Fraser), old friend Lauren (Julia Chan) and her new partner Ben (EastEnders star Jake Wood), “belief and scepticism clash, but something feels strange and frightening”, according to the synopsis.

In the play, described by Robins as “bloody scary”, the group stay up until 2:22am to see if they can solve the mystery of the strange sounds in the house.

The production is directed by Matthew Dunster (Hangmen, Love and Money). It will open at the Noël Coward theatre in August.

Last year, Allen said she has no plans to sign to a major label to release her new album, saying she no longer wants to work within “that corporate structure”.

Allen’s most recent album, No Shame, was released in 2018 to critical praise.