Gripping drama evokes pain and shame of victims in Post Office scandal

Rabble Theatre and the University of Reading present Glitch
Minghella Theatre, Reading
Tuesday, July 2

THE real-life plight of hundreds of sub-postmasters and mistresses has recently aroused the sympathy and indignation of the British public.

Glitch is a play with a purpose: to reveal the extent of the damage done to innocent, reputable public servants when no one would listen to their voices.

The play has arisen from an innovative partnership between Rabble Theatre and the Law School at Reading University, who are exploring the power of drama to help students understand and engage with the cases they might encounter.

The university commissioned Zannah Kearns to write Glitch, with support from playwright Beth Flintoff and the artistic directors of Rabble Theatre.

The script explores the broader issue of miscarriages of justice through the lens of one local woman’s experiences, Barkham sub-postmistress, Pam Stubbs.

Glitch is jointly directed by Gemma Colclough and Gareth Taylor.

Caitlin Abbott’s set authentically evokes a small post office and shop, taking the audience deep into an everyday working experience which is shortly to become a nightmare.

Elizabeth Elvin is believable and likeable as the determined Pam Stubbs, frazzled but still cheerful as, just before Christmas, she struggles to reconcile her accounts.

Laura Penneycard is her chirpy assistant. Things won’t add up. Every time Pam attempts to undertake a transaction, the big Post Office sign buzzes ominously, a metaphor for problems in the Horizon software system on which the Post Office staff must depend.

The faulty system requires professional people to do things that are counterintuitive.

The deficits keep on growing. Pam’s queries and feedback to her superiors and to the helpline are ignored; there is no help.

A small and committed cast multi-task to portray a range of participants in this troubling affair — customers, auditors, lawyers and, most importantly, other individuals deeply damaged by similar harsh and unjust treatment by the Post Office.

Fayez Bakhsh plays, among other roles, the steadfast Alan Bates and Laura Penneycard is moving as a victim falsely imprisoned on charges of which she was innocent.

Sabina Netherclift is chilling as the prosecution. Oliver Welsh’s lighting sharpens the mood.

The last words are from Pam as she sums up how she endured the doubt and disgrace she was wrongly subjected to.

In just 75 minutes of gripping drama, Glitch succeeds in evoking the pain, shame and isolation experienced by people caught up in a scandal that simply makes your blood boil.

Susan Creed