Post Office scandal play 'incredibly important'
A subpostmistress whose story is at the centre of a play about the Post Office scandal says it is "incredibly important" that the production will reach more people on an upcoming tour.
Glitch sold out when it debuted at the University of Reading in June 2024 and received £85,000 from Arts Council England for a national tour.
It tells the story of Pam Stubbs, from the village of Barkham, near Wokingham, who lost her home and her business because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system.
She told the BBC: "We're a small village... so many people don't even know this has happened."
Local playwright Zannah Kearns is behind the work which was produced by Reading-based RABBLE Theatre.
It is set to tour the UK between February and April.
More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted because of the faulty Horizon computer system.
Many went to prison for false accounting and theft, and others were financially ruined.
In 2017, a group of 555 sub-postmasters - led by campaigner Alan Bates, who has since been knighted - took legal action in a landmark court case against the Post Office.
Eventually dozens of them had their convictions quashed in 2021.
The story gained wider public attention after it was depicted in an ITV drama, Mr Bates vs The Post Office in 2024.
As of June 2025, more than £1bn has been awarded to thousands of sub-postmasters across all schemes.
Glitch takes its name from an e-mail from then Post Office boss, Paula Vennells, where she asked for "less emotive words" that could be used to describe what was happening with the accounting system.
"For about 10 years, perhaps more, I don't think I slept through an entire night," Stubbs said.
"I knew that I was innocent, and anybody that I cared to talk to, I told them."
Jo Howarth, the actress playing Stubbs, said meeting her was "really important because those little details give you the background and support to make a real human being on that stage".
Gareth Taylor, the play's director, said: "Pam has been part of the process all the way up to this point.
He added: "She's been watching rehearsals, and she's very much on board with the story that we're telling."
