A Rabble Theatre production, Theatr Weston (Theatr Clwyd)
(4.5 / 5)
On tour nationwide until April
Glitch. It took a television series to ignite public anger about a scandal that had been brewing for over 20 years. Those with an eye to the news knew something about what was happening but most remained blindly indifferent to the scale of injustice that was being perpetrated. This drama relates some personal stories from those whose lives were often ruined by the actions of the Post Office and the computer company, Fujitsu. It focuses in particular on the story of Pam Stubbs from Barkham, a small village 15 minutes away from the Fujitsu headquarters in Basingstoke.
Rabble theatre takes stories of national significance and develops drama from them. They are passionate about supporting women such that when they heard the story of Pam in 2021, they felt compelled to tell her story. As they devised the show, it became apparent that this was a huge scandal, not a one off event. Glitch was first produced in 2024, before the broadcast of the now famous ITV drama featuring Alan Bates who was knighted recently for investigating this scandal and managing the campaign for justice.
What happened to over 900 sub-post office masters is quite simple. A new computer system called Horizon made by Fujitsu to record transactions was installed in sub-post offices. A selection of these Horizon machines developed a bug which altered the totals of a days takings leaving a short fall of perhaps £200 a day unaccounted for. Over a period of time, a sub-post office could run up a debt of up to £50,000 by which time, the Post Office auditors would have been called in to inspect what was happening and concluded that the sub-post office master was swindling the system. The Post Office would then prosecute the shop owner to recoup the money.
Pam’s particular story is both distressing and admirable. She kept meticulous written records of every Post Office transaction and could detail every loss that was unjustly incurred within the accounts. Despite countless attempts to call in help from the Post Office and Fujitsu she was not believed, had her counter closed down and she had to sell her shop. She became a social pariah in a close knit village, yet despite this when called on to testify in court, stood up and told her story despite intimidating and manipulative tactics from the defence lawyers. She emerges as a strong minded, fair person who acted with integrity.
This show needed a strong lead and Joanna Howarth as Pam provides this. At times friendly and gentle, at others someone you would not mess with. However this was a team effort with a small cast of four. Laura Penneycard, Naveed Khan and Sabine Netherclift all played multiple roles and together they portrayed a compelling drama that illustrated the distress caused by the scandal well.
The play notes that 300 people died before seeing this injustice exposed and their name cleared. Thirteen of those committed suicide. Many law abiding citizens were imprisoned or faced bankruptcy because the Post Office believed a computer system from a faceless multinational company rather than honest working people. This really is a story of the common person fighting against the impersonal cruelty of big business and the desire to put profit before people. Full marks to Rabble Theatre for being bold enough to tell this story. It deserves widespread viewing.