Make Good, a musical three years in the making, will tour to 26 venues around the country, including village halls just like the one where Sir Alan Bates and other sub-postmasters started the fight back against the Post Office and Fujitsu, now recognised as one of the gravest miscarriages of justice in British history, as well as dates in Birmingham and London.
The cast for the production are Victoria Brazier, performing in her second Pentabus/New Perspectives co-production following Crossings, rising star and Spotlight Graduate Finalist Charlotte Delima, making her professional stage debut, Samuel Gosrani (Robin Hood: The Legend. Rewritten and The Lovely Bones), and acclaimed performer and comedian Ed Gaughan.
Make Good is directed by Elle While (Artistic Director, Pentabus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream The Globe), with book by Jeanie O’Hare, who commissioned Matilda while Company Dramaturg at the RSC, music and lyrics by Olivier-nominee Jim Fortune (The Odyssey, Hex, NT) and additional music by fellow Olivier-nominee Maimuna Memon.
Ahead of the production touring we caught up with writer Jeanie O’Hare to learn more.
What can you tell me about Make Good?
Make Good tells the story of the extraordinary people who were the pillars of our communities, who somehow found a way to survive when their lives were destroyed by the Post Office. Our Sub-postmasters were prosecuted and imprisoned for crimes that were only ever the fever-dreams of malfunctioning computers. It’s a ninety minute musical with 9 songs, for four actors, three musicians and a local community choir who will sing with us in each venue.
What first inspired your writing of the piece?
I heard an interview on the Today programme with John Humphreys in 2013 and it was so obvious that the Sub-postmaster being interviewed was innocent. I thought ‘that’ll get sorted’ and I went back to my job in America. I moved back home in 2019 and I couldn’t believe it was still not being dealt with. I pitched the idea to Pentabus Theatre company in 2020 because I knew that they tell stories 'of the community in the community' better than anyone else.
How has the reaction to the ITV drama changed your approach to the piece?
The political reaction has been very inspiring. It is heartening to know that telling stories exceptionally wellcan move the political dial. Gwyneth Hughes has done a fantastic job. We knew our project could co-exist, and could do some of the same work in keeping the story alive in the popular imagination. The ambition has always been to go into the communities where the damage was done and let music begin to do some of the healing. It is a very different experience being in a village hall with a story told in song. It wraps around you and takes care of you. We need this kept on the political agenda until the Sub-postmasters are given full redress.
What was your writing process like for the piece?
It began with watching the human impact statements. Then reading a lot of legal stuff, and some nerdy computer stuff. Then when I felt I knew what questions to ask, I spoke to an ex Sub-postmistress in Shropshire. Her generosity in sharing her story stopped me in my tracks. I suddenly felt the weight and magnitude of the heartache in a way that I hadn’t before. We workshopped my first draft in Ludlow with a local choir. Every single choir member had knowledge and understanding of the story. They had been following it (this was in 2021 before the ITV drama) and the anger in the room was incandescent.
How is the collaborative approach of writing with Jim Fortune and Maimuna Memon who have provided the music and lyrics?
It has been a pleasure. The nature of writing a ‘book’ for a musical is like silversmithing; the scene is the setting and the song is the jewel. The scene is sketched out, and the song that might exist in that scene is then sketched out, and then chats and more chats help solidify everything. Both Jim and Muna recognise big emotions and capture them deftly in beautiful melodies.
At what part of the process do you feel your job is complete as the writer or are you always looking to make adjustments?
The job keeps going until press night. All of the elements of the show have to knit together into a unified whole.
Where did your career begin and how do you reflect on your journey so far?
I began as a sculptor but I grew up watching Shakespeare. (I would get free tickets to the productions that weren’t selling at the RSC) I had a studio in Brixton for a few years while I ushered at the Royal Court (one among many jobs) and gradually I got drawn back into theatre. I went on to work at some great theatres both here and in America. I’m just glad to be able to use the skills I have picked up along the way to tell this story.
What keeps you inspired?
Stories that need to be told.
What do you hope an audience member takes away from seeing the show?
I hope they take away admiration for the men and women who do the Herculean job of holding our communities together. They know everything about us (our benefits, our love letters, the state of our cars, our embarrassing passport photos and how addicted we are to the Lottery) and they never spill the beans, they hold it all in trust. They are the opposite of a surveillance society and we need to treasure them.
Make Good plays on tour opening at Ludlow Assembly Rooms on Friday 18th October. You can find full tour dates and booking information at https://pentabus.co.uk/make-good-post-office-scandal
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