While the original ‘story’ has been in the headlines for some time, the Horizon Post Office Scandal caught the public’s imagination following the televised drama on British TV (Mr Bates vs The Post Office) in January 2024. But like any dramatised narrative, choices were made about what was and wasn’t included. Make Good: The Post Office Scandal by Pentabus Theatre Company is a musical that is currenly touring the UK. But rather than follow the same, exact format as the TV drama, Make Good primarily focuses on three sub-postmasters: Indira (Charlotte Delima), Elsie (Victoria Brazier) and Mohandas (Samuel Gosrani).

Before the show begins ‘properly’, we’re introduced to Ed Gaughan who plays Patrick the Postman (no relations to the famous children’s TV character!) and various other roles. As he talks about things that the local audience would appreciate and some of other venues Pentabus have played at, we sense that the performance that we’re about to see is a labour of love, and that the performers and creative team really value the audience’s presence.

Rather than rush into the characters’ gruelling experiences, we are eased into their respective backstories through song and why they decided to be sub-postmasters in the first place. Much of this take place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and as we hear about the ‘events’ of that time. Much of it seems a welcome change in comparison to what’s happened in recent years – almost nostalgic.

We see that back in those in those days (before the time the powers-that-be decided to close branches across the UK), that transactions at post office counters are mostly paper-based and that the advent of digital payments are far from universally adopted. Then the Horizon accounting software is foisted on all sub-postmasters. Amalgamating all the different types of services that the Post Office provides, in theory Horizon should have been a utilitarian tool. But without a beta testing stage to iron out any hidden ‘kinks’, the ‘bugs’ that permeate Horizon’s source code soon manifest, with the powers-that-be ignoring the cries for help regarding the discrepancies arising from the Horizon system.

Also, as a sidenote, while sub-postmasters across the board had problems with Horizon and approached the IT helpdesk for answers (as indicated in the show), sub-postmasters of south Asian descent were given short shrift by Horizon’s helpdesk – refusing to authorise the auditing of these branches, which would have immediately brung to light Horizon’s discrepancies.

The mentioning of Horizon’s big screens in relation to the movie Minority Report foreshadows the pre-emptive accusations of guilt, as exemplified in the film. But what compounds the stress of the sub-postmasters is the Faustian pact they made with ‘the Crown’ before being allowed to run a post office branch – that any and all ‘losses’/missing money would be paid by the sub-postmaster. In the days of paper transactions, it was a harmless, if valid by-law. But the ongoing conflated errors generated by the Horizon system meant they were liable for these, which over time reach absurd amounts…

The songs in the show reflect the thoughts and emotions of the respective characters over time. These become more nuanced and heartbreaking when we see how the ongoing crisis with the sub-postmasters are not only becoming bankrupt trying to cover Horizon’s ‘losses’, but suffer what cannot be replaced – frayed relationships, leading in extreme cases of being ostracised from one’s parents and the break-up of marriages.

As we all know, through heartbreak and adversity, the testimonies of the affected sub-postmasters were eventually upheld in British courts, but in many ways this was a Pyrrhic victory. No amount of money will ever make up for the stress on mental health the false accusations engendered, or discord among close relationships, to say nothing of external reputational damage. But through these characters, we identify with their financial hardships, as well as the Kafkaesque ‘red tape’ people go through to get answers from public bodies or legal authorities.

Musicals set during serious, real events are nothing new (Cabaret, Les Miserables anyone?), but Make Good is perhaps (in spirit, though not via plot or execution) like London Road, with its focus on affected individuals in a ‘small community’, how they are perceived by the police/media and their attempt to rebuild their lives afterwards. Musicals don’t have to be big, extravagant events. But they do need to be grounded in emotional truth, and Make Good has that in spades.

© Michael Davis 2024

Make Good: The Post Office Scandal ran at Midlands Arts Centre on 6th November. It continues its run nationwide on:

Saturday 9 Nov 2024
14:30
Omnibus Theatre,
1 Clapham Common Northside,
London
SW4 0QW

Saturday 9 Nov 2024
19:30
Omnibus Theatre,
1 Clapham Common Northside,
London
SW4 0QW

Wednesday 13 Nov 2024
19:30
The Poly,
24 Church St,
Falmouth,
Cornwall
TR11 3EG

Thursday 14 Nov 2024
19:30
Winterborne Stickland Village Hall,
West Street,
Winterborne Stickland,
Blandford Forum,
Dorset
DT11 0NT

Saturday 16 Nov 2024
19:30
Stockland Victory Hall,
Stockland,
Devon
EX14 9EF

Tuesday 19 Nov 2024
19:30
Marsden Mechanics,
Peel Street,
Marsden,
Huddersfield
HD7 6BW

Wednesday 20 Nov 2024
19:30
Foxlowe Arts Centre,
Market Place,
Leek,
Staffordshire
ST13 6AD

Thursday 21 Nov 2024
20:00
Wythall Community Club,
Wythall House, 52 Silver Street,
Wythall,
Birmingham
B47 6LZ

Friday 22 Nov 2024
19:30
Feckenham Village Hall Trust,
High Street,
Feckenham,
Redditch
B96 6HN

Saturday 23 Nov 2024
19:30
Quatt Village Hall,
Quatt,
Bridgnorth,
Shropshire
WV15 6QW

Wednesday 27 Nov 2024
19:30
Hereford College of Arts (HCA),
Folly Lane,
Hereford
HR1 1LT

Thursday 28 Nov 2024
19:30
SpArc Theatre,
Brampton Rd,
Bishops Castle
SY9 5AY

Friday 29 Nov 2024
20:00
The Edge Arts Centre,
William Brookes School,
Farley Road,
Much Wenlock,
Shropshire
TF13 6NB

Saturday 30 Nov 2024
19:30
The Talbot Theatre,
Whitchurch
SY13 2BY

Sunday 1 Dec 2024
19:00
Thimblemill Library,
Thimblemill Road,
Smethwick
B67 5RJ