Shrewsbury sub-postmasters who lost their home because of the Horizon Scandal in conversation with Make Good team
- Exclusive post-show event after the 7.30pm Tues 5th November performance of Make Good at Theatre Severn.
- Make Good is on a 25-venue national tour until the 1st of December, accompanied by local choirs, and raising money for the Horizon Scandal Fund for affected sub-postmasters.
Make Good in performance (from L – R Samuel Gosrani, Victoria Brazier, Charlotte Delima)
photo credit Andrew Billington .
Pentabus and New Perspectives today announce former sub-postmaster Rubbina Shaheen and husband Mohamed Hami will be in conversation with Make Good’s director Elle While and writer (book) Jeanie O’Hare. Rubbina was jailed in 2010 as a result of the faulty software used by the Post Office, and the couple lost their home. Rubbina had her conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2021. Rubbina and Mohamed have been involved in the development process of Make Good, and the four will talk about the scandal, its human impact, and the importance of keeping the story in the public eye.
Make Good is a new musical over three years in the making, telling the story of the astonishing resilience of communities at the heart of a scandal that isn’t over yet, and has been widely recognised as one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in British history. It has been receiving significant press attention, including in the Guardian, BBC News, and Radio 5 Live (at 52:50).
Make Good is on a 25-venue national tour from the 19th October until 1st December, including dates in village halls just like the one where the fightback against the Post Office and Fujitsu started. More information on the tour.
Commenting on the Make Good tour, Rubbina Shaheen said, “If we knew that this was going to happen to us, that we were going to become criminals by buying a Post Office, we would never, ever have done it. They are the criminals. Behind closed doors they have secretly been doing this to us. This show opens up those doors and in doing so, it tells the story that the nation needs to hear. The story of what really happened to us and other post-masters and post-mistresses.”
Mohamed Hami added, “The musical is full of feeling. And that’s what we need to portray to people now, so that they can feel and understand what we felt, all the heartache that we went through. The songs bring so much to the story, they’re heartfelt and there’s humour in it too, it’s funny. It made me smile as well as being touching.”
Raising Money for the Horizon Scandal Fund.
Pentabus & New Perspectives are charities and cannot survive without the generous support of our audiences and patrons. This year, as we tour Make Good, we are sharing our donations with the Horizon Scandal Fund. At every performance, a member of the cast will ask the audience to support the vital work of both charities.
50% will be gifted to the Horizon Scandal Fund.
Horizon Scandal Fund: Helping Subpostmasters rebuild their lives
On April 23, 2021, the Court of Appeal overturned the wrongful convictions of 39 Subpostmasters who had been unjustly accused and prosecuted by the Post Office. The prosecutions were based on flawed evidence from a faulty software system called Horizon.
Over a period of 15 years, more than 700 individuals were prosecuted by the Post Office, destroying the lives of many. Livelihoods were lost, savings were taken under the threat of prosecution, and people endured years of guilt, shame, and financial hardship. Families were torn apart, and the immense stress often led to severe mental health trauma.
The Horizon Scandal Fund exists to support these individuals. We provide grants for needs such as counselling, therapy, respite breaks, and financial relief. We are entirely independent of the Post Office and any Government agencies.
