Tales of corruption and epic struggles in Post Office Scandal – The Inside Story on stage in West Sussex

It plays The Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham on Wednesday, June 29 at 7.30pm and The Chequer Mead Theatre, East Grinstead on Thursday, June 30 at 7pm.

Tom Beard, from the company, said: “This is the true story of how hundreds of innocent Post Office workers fought to clear their names when accounting errors created by dodgy IT led to them being accused of theft and fraud. Proud pillars of their communities were stripped of their jobs and livelihoods. Many were forced into bankruptcy and or borrowed from friends and family to give the Post Office thousands they did not owe. Hundreds of innocent people were criminally prosecuted by the Post Office’s own private prosecutors and sent to prison. Soon to be adapted into a primetime ITV drama, this jaw-dropping, unique and gripping story is now the subject of a compelling stage show.

“Reporter and broadcaster Nick Wallis (BBC Radio 4’s The Great Post Office Trial, Private Eye’s Justice Lost in the Post, BBC1’s Panorama Scandal at the Post Office, The One Show and Channel 5’s Criminals Caught on Camera) has been following the Post Office Horizon story for more than a decade. He is widely acknowledged as one of the leading journalistic authorities on the scandal and has witnessed first-hand many of the dramatic events which brought it to light.

“Over the course of approximately one hundred minutes, Nick will expertly chronicle the twists and turns of the scandal, the shambolic commissioning of the disastrous Horizon IT system, the punitive methods employed by the Post Office to ruin people’s lives and the eventual cover-up, maintained at the highest levels of government.

“Nick has drawn on the story to write a best-selling book The Great Post Office Scandal, serialised by the Daily Mail and featured in the Sunday Times, and it is this book which forms the basis of his new show. Nick will give context to the scandal, narrow in on some of the key personalities involved and what they knew and relate the staggering legal battles fought and won by campaigning subpostmasters.

"As 2022’s public inquiry into the scandal reveals yet more horrors, Nick will be able to explain the latest developments and their significance.

“Nick will be talking about his experiences, using audio visual excerpts and reading from his best-selling book. This will be followed by a Q&A session, giving the audience an opportunity to explore areas in more detail.”

Nick said: “There is a real public appetite to hear more about the scandal. Telling this story to a live audience, answering questions and highlighting the true scale of what went wrong is a privilege to be a part of.

“I also want to pay tribute to the incredibly brave people who were ruined by the Post Office and risked everything to get the truth.”