Credit: Joseph Lynn
Five fishermen.
£53 million worth of cocaine.
And a question that still haunts Britain’s justice system.
In January 2026, The Freshwater Five sets sail on a national tour, bringing one of the most controversial criminal cases in recent British history to the stage. Produced by Isle of Wight theatre company Deadman, the play revisits the fate of five ordinary working men whose lives were irrevocably altered by a single court ruling — and whose fight for justice is far from over.
In 2011, Jamie Green, Jon Beere, Zoran Dresic, Daniel Payne and Scott Birtwistle — fishermen from the Isle of Wight — were convicted of conspiracy to import £53 million worth of cocaine. Together, they received a combined prison sentence of 104 years. Over a decade later, all five men continue to maintain their innocence. Though their most recent appeal was rejected, the case remains fiercely debated, with campaigners and legal experts continuing to question how the verdict was reached.
The Freshwater Five is the debut work of playwright Liam Patrick Harrison, and it approaches the story not as courtroom spectacle but as a deeply human tragedy. Developed by creatives from the Isle of Wight, the production was shaped through direct work with the men, their families and their long-standing lawyer, Emily Bolton — founder of the miscarriage-of-justice charity law practice APPEAL.
This is not simply a retelling of a crime. The play widens its lens to explore the social and economic realities surrounding the case: immigration, financial precarity, the devastating impact of drugs on coastal communities, and the often-overlooked humanity of Britain’s working-class seafarers. It asks audiences to look beyond headlines and verdicts, and to sit with the human cost of a conviction that changed multiple lives forever.
Blending verbatim testimony, inventive stagecraft, poetry and song, the production gives voice to five men whose livelihoods, identities and families were torn apart — and to those left behind to carry the weight of unanswered questions. There are striking contradictions at the heart of the case: no forensic evidence linking the men to the cocaine, no drugs found on their fishing boat, and a Proceeds of Crime investigation that uncovered no unexplained wealth. These tensions echo through the play, lending it the feel of a modern maritime epic, with thematic parallels to works such as Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
Following sold-out performances in coastal communities during 2023 and 2024, this expanded production now embarks on a national tour under the direction of Deadman’s artistic director, Samuel Bossman. The aim is not to deliver a verdict, but to present the story with clarity, sensitivity and power — allowing audiences to form their own conclusions about a case that continues to divide opinion.
The Freshwater Five cannot solve the mystery at its centre. What it can do is offer a stage — for the men, their families and their community — to be seen, heard and remembered. It is a story of loss and resilience, of justice questioned, and of voices that refuse to be silenced.
The Freshwater Five tours nationally from Tuesday 20 January to Thursday 28 May 2026
https://linktr.ee/thefreshwaterfive
About the Author
