THE UNIVERSITY of Reading is set to welcome former subpostmistress Pam Stubbs for the opening of a new play centered on the Post Office scandal.
Glitch, produced by Reading’s own RABBLE theatre company, is coming to campus this summer in a dramatisation of the events which saw nearly 1000 Post Office workers falsely accused of theft and most prosecuted.
It was called the biggest miscarriage of justice as innocent former employees were prosecuted as the result of an error in the IT system, provided by Horizon, between 1996 and 2019.
Overall, around 700 former workers were wrongfully convicted, including Pam Stubbs, about whom the play was written.
The work has been in development since 2022, written by playwright Zannah Kearns and produced with assistance from the university’s School of Law and Department of Film, Theatre, and Television.
It also saw funding from School of Law, the university’s arts committee, and the Vice Chancellor’s Community Fund.
It is set to debut at the Minghella Theatre later this month, when the opening night will see a question and answer session from Pam Stubbs as well as writer Zannah Kearns, directors Gemma Colclough and Gareth Taylor, and the cast.
Associate Professor at the university Elizabeth Conaghan, a law expert who helped create the production, said: “It’s fantastic to have had so many of us come together to tell a story about one of the most widespread miscarriages of justice in English legal history.
“Pam Stubbs has been a stalwart of the Justice For Subpostmasters Alliance and we have worked closely with her to tell a story that will have a profound effect on everyone who hears it.”
Safiya, a university law student also involved in the production, said: “When I learn about law cases I usually read them from a textbook, but learning about a case from a theatre perspective has made it much more personal to me and easier to understand.”
Glitch is showing at the University of Reading’s Minghella Theatre on Thursday, June 27, and runs until Saturday, July 6.
Tickets and more information are available via: rabbletheatre.com/glitch/
