"This isn't just a play about a boat": Sam Bossman discusses The Freshwater Five and the links to Leeds of old

But The Freshwater Five, a true crime story being performed at The Old Woollen in Farsley on April 28, is something much more visceral.

It tells the real-life story of five fishermen from the Isle of Wight caught up in one of the most controversial drug-smuggling cases in British history and remains a lightning rod for debate today.

But for Sam Bossman, the artistic director of Deadman and an actor bringing The Freshwater Five to Leeds, the story is about much more than a legal verdict; instead, it’s a story about the "albatross" of a life sentence and the resilience of communities that the rest of the country often forgets.

Bossman didn't want to create a dry, historical retelling. For him, the energy of the stage had to match the intensity of the real-life controversy.

"The show is dynamic in its use of movement, sound and set/props," Bossman explains. "They are all multi-use, and actors play more than one role. Unlike a lot of TV and media these days, we respect the audience’s intelligence, and we want people to leave the show feeling excited and really asking themselves if these men are innocent or guilty."

It’s an ambitious approach to a story that Bossman feels a deep, personal responsibility to tell.

An Isle of Wight native himself, he saw a community divided by the case and a local history that was being overlooked by the wider world.

"The story is about as controversial as it gets on the Isle of Wight, and everyone knows it and has an opinion about it," he says. "I have never seen or known of a new play being done about here, and that is such an important thing to connect people to the place where you live.

“We felt it was really important to do that and try and heal the divide in our community as well as get more people into the theatre, many of them for the first time. Growing up there, I needed that, but it wasn’t there, so I feel a responsibility to do it now."

“A venue that so clearly carries that heritage and history as an old mill is really important”

Bringing this maritime tragedy to the Old Woollen in Farsley creates a unique parallel.

While the setting is an old textile mill in the heart of West Yorkshire, Bossman believes the themes of industrial decline and "economic precarity" will resonate deeply with a Leeds audience.

"Our industry has for a long time been dominated by London and those from privileged backgrounds - “nepo babies” as they call em now" Bossman jokes. "[But] Leeds has such a strong working-class history and, like many regional places, is often overlooked.

“Coming to a venue that so clearly carries that heritage and history as an old mill is really important."

For Bossman, performing in a former industrial powerhouse such as Farsley is the perfect fit for a play that draws deep parallels with The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

"Like the Mariner, this case and sentence hang over them and around their necks like the eponymous albatross," he says.

"It is a curse they carry with them to this day and a key part of the storytelling in the production."

The ultimate goal for Bossman and the production company, Deadman, is to platform the stories of communities that are often ignored until tragedy or criminality strikes.

"So much of the country suffers from historic underinvestment," Bossman concludes. "If we want coastal places and post-industrial places to be places where people live, rather than just museums to be forgotten, we have to be bold."

Tickets to see The Freshwater Five at The Old Woollen, Farsley are currently on sale and available through the venue’s official website.