Play on Post Office scandal to tour UK

It tells the story of Pam Stubbs, a subpostmistress from Barkham near Wokingham

A play about the Post Office scandal has secured enough funding for a national tour.

The production called "Glitch" sold out when it debuted at the University of Reading in June 2024 and has now received £85,000 from Arts Council England.

It tells the story of Pam Stubbs, a subpostmistress from Barkham who lost her home and her business because of incorrect information from the Horizon computer system.

Local playwright Zannah Kearns is behind the work which was produced by Reading-based RABBLE Theatre and it is set to tour the UK between February and April 2026.

Eventually dozens of sub-postmasters had their convictions quashed in 2021

More than 900 sub-postmasters were prosecuted because of the faulty Horizon computer system.

Many sub-postmasters 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 sub-postmasters 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 2 June 2025, more than £1bn has been awarded to thousands of sub-postmasters across all schemes.

Elizabeth Conaghan, University of Reading law expert who helped create the production, said: "It's remarkable to see how this collaboration has grown from a local story into one that will be told across the country. We worked closely with Pam Stubbs to sensitively tell her story, and now it will have a profound effect on audiences up and down the UK.

"The tour coincides with the University of Reading's centenary in March 2026, which is a fitting way to show the School of Law's long-standing commitment to teaching and addressing miscarriages of justice in years gone by and long into the future."