Post Office Scandal musical axed due to Paula Vennells "sensitivities"
- The Scottish Falsetto Sock show Post Office Scandal The Musical has been cancelled at next month's Bedfringe comedy festival, allegedly due to the event's ties with disgraced former Post Office boss Paula Vennells
- Bedfringe is sponsored by the private Bedford School, where Vennells was a governor until recently, and it is alleged that representatives of the school have said "they simply cannot put on the Post Office Scandal play"
- The Socks' creator Kev F Sutherland said: "Luckily, having nipped it in the bud and, to all intents and purposes, covered it up, there's no danger of anyone making any association between the Post Office Scandal and Bedford School. Phew."
A comedy musical about the Post Office scandal has been cancelled at a comedy festival because of the event's ties to disgraced former Post Office boss Paula Vennells.
Post Office Scandal The Musical is the latest show from The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, the long-standing creation of comedian and cartoonist Kev F Sutherland, and had been due to appear at the Bedfringe comedy festival next month.
However, the show appears to have been pulled because the festival is sponsored by Bedford School, a private boarding institution for boys, with the Bleeding Cool website alleging that despite the Socks having sold 75% of their tickets for their 19th July performance, "representatives of the school have told Bedfringe that they simply cannot put on the Post Office Scandal play", due to Vennells being a former governor at the school.
The Socks will now perform their 2018 show, Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre: Superheroes at the festival instead.
Sutherland told British Comedy Guide: "I'm sorry not to be performing the show there, and especially sorry for the people who'd already bought tickets for it.
"Obviously having a comedy show all about the Post Office Scandal performed at a school whose governor was a key player in the Post Office Scandal would be embarrassing to the school. Luckily, having nipped it in the bud and, to all intents and purposes, covered it up, there's no danger of anyone making any association between the Post Office Scandal and Bedford School. Phew."
A spokesperson for Bedfringe told BCG: "The show has been replaced with another show by the same company, in order to respect widespread sensitivities at the current time."
British businesswoman and Anglican priest Vennells was chief executive officer of Post Office Limited from 2012 to 2019, when more than 900 sub-postmasters were fired, wrongly convicted, fined, and in some cases imprisoned between 1999 and 2015 for theft, false accounting and fraud because of apparent shortfalls at their branches due to flaws in sales and accounting software.
She was appointed a CBE in 2019, an honour which was formally revoked this year. She has recently been giving evidence in a government enquiry, prompted by the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office. Vennells stepped down as a governor at Bedford School in 2021, following earlier media coverage of the scandal as it reached the courts.
Bleeding Cool reports that the festival's physical programme is being re-printed. Bedfringe's website has already been changed, with other acts currently lined up to appear including Tony Slattery, Suzi Ruffell, Ivo Graham, Kiri Pritchard-McLean, Paul Foot, Sophie Duker, Mitch Benn, Elliot Steel, Huge Davies, Justin Moorhouse, Luke Rollason, Kemah Bob and Alfie Moore.
Meanwhile, Post Office Scandal The Musical can still be seen at the Ludlow Fringe on 16th June, with tickets currently available.