‘Miscarriage of Justice’ The Freshwater Five Comes To Weston Super Mare
The play explores the fishermen’s ongoing fight for justice
An ongoing battle for justice by a group of fishermen convicted of cocaine smuggling is at the heart of a new play on UK tour this year.
The Freshwater Five are fishermen from the Isle of Wight. They were accused and ultimately imprisoned for conspiracy to import cocaine from the English Channel. This was supposedly done in lobster pots at Freshwater Bay. The 250kg of cocaine had a wholesale value of £13,387,500 and an estimated street value of £53,857,788.
Between them, the men were sentenced to 104 years in prison.
But the five fishermen – Jamie Green, Jon Beere, Zoran Dresic, Daniel Payne and Scott Birtwistle – have all maintained their innocence in what could be one of the biggest miscarriage of justices of recent time.
Despite fresh evidence surrounding radar data, a missing expert report and inconsistencies in police evidence, their last appeal in 2021 was rejected by the Court of Appeal.
The conclusion was the Grounds of Appeal did not ‘cast doubt’ on the ‘safety’ of the convictions, calling the original findings a ‘compelling prosecution’.
Theatre company Deadman led by Artistic Director Samuel Bossman, made the important story the foundation of its work. The theatre company aims to challenge the status quo as well as provide work opportunities for new actors and creatives on the island.
Growing up on an island makes it difficult for people to access creative arts, not least because the Solent separates the island from mainland Britain.
With research and development funding from the Arts Council, writer Liam Patrick Harrison along with the Deadman team were able to create the brand new play The Freshwater Five. Initially inspired by a podcast by The Guardian, Harrison’s writing poses the question – Were five ordinary fishermen innocent men or international drug smugglers?
The Isle of Wight creatives worked directly with the five men and their families. They also worked with Emily Bolton, the founder of charity law practice APPEAL and co-director until 2023. Bolton has been instrumental in the pursuance of justice.
The play doesn’t try to prove the men’s innocence, it offers a stage for those affected to have their story highlighted. The decades of pain and injustice and quest for answers.
As well as the true crime aspect of the story, the play also raises issues around immigration, the precarious state of the economy and the impact of drugs within coastal communities.
There is, of course, what the creatives call the “often-overlooked humanity of Britain’s working-class seafarers.”
The company has so far taken the play to venues in coastal communities in 2023 and 2024. It’s now expanding nationally, coming to the Blakehay Theatre in Weston Super Mare in February 2026.
The ensemble cast tells the story with sensitivity and clarity, allowing audiences a chance to form their own judgement on a case that still divides opinion.
The story blends together verbatim testimony alongside poetry and song and inventive stage craft.
It will show the contradictions of there being no forensic evidence linking the men to the cocaine. That there was no trace of drugs on board their fishing boat. And that a Proceeds of Crime investigation found no ‘unexplained gains’.
The Freshwater Five will be at the Blakehay Theatre 27 – 28 February 2026
Friday tickets: https://www.blakehay.org.uk/event-details/the-freshwater-five-2026-02-27-19-30
Saturday Tickets: https://www.blakehay.org.uk/event-details/the-freshwater-five-2026-02-28-19-30
For more information about Deadman: https://www.hellodeadman.com
Featured Image: Charlie Price
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