Tears and laughter at emotional Wallsend premiere of Samantha Madgin play 'Our Sam'
Tears and laughter flowed as a heart-wrenching play about the murder of young mum Samantha Madgin was performed in front of an audience for the first time.
Samantha, from Wallsend, was just 18 years old when she was stabbed to death by teen killer Jordan Jobson just weeks after giving birth to son Callum. Jobson, who was just 15 years old at the time, was convicted of murder and jailed for life.
Since Samantha's death, in 2007, her loved ones have devoted their lives to educating young people about the dangers of carrying knives. Since establishing the organisation Samantha’s Legacy, Samantha's mum Alison Madgin and sister Carly Barrett have delivered workshops to hundreds of children in schools across the North East in a bid to help stop more lived being claimed.
Samantha's Legacy teamed up with Wallsend-based company Wild Roses Theatre Group to create 'Our Sam', an emotional play about Samantha's life and the devastating impact of her death.
The play was premiered at Wallsend Memorial Hall on Saturday night in front of an invited audience made up of Samantha's loved ones, relatives of other victims of violence and those involved in the ongoing fight against knife crime in the North East.
Welcoming the audience to the venue, Carly said: "Everybody in this room tonight is somebody who has supported us somewhere along our journey. You are the people who mean the most to us. The performance isn't going to be an easy watch, but we do have some amusing scenes, it's not all doom and gloom."
Samantha's story is well known to most of North Tyneside, but seeing it played out on stage hits hard. Our Sam opens with scenes of life in the Madgin home before Samantha's death, portraying them as the normal hard-working, loving and happy Wallsend family they were before the tragedy.
Samantha's nerves before telling her family she was pregnant, and then pride at becoming a mum are brought to life by actress Ruby Wilson, before the harrowing aftermath of the stabbing comes to life onstage.
Emma Griffiths, who played Alison, brought to life the agony of losing a daughter and for those in the room that know Alison it was hard to believe that it was an actress on stage and not Alison herself.
The play then follows the family through the funeral, the Crown Court trial to where they are now, still dealing with the pain of losing Samantha, alongside the pride of having had her in their lives.
Following the play, writer director Donna Peat took to the stage to thank the Madgins for allowing her to tell Samantha's story.
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She said: "Thank you for trusting me with Sam's story and giving me the opportunity to bring her tragedy to life."
And Alison, who also lost her son Lee in 2017, thanked the cast for bringing her children back to life on stage.
"For me, and all of yous that knew Sam, it touches you right in the heart. But that's the message we need to get out there, because this is what knife crime does to you. Samantha would be really proud," she said. "They got the characters off to a tee. And that's just what I needed to see, because for me it brought them back to life."
Samantha was had been enjoying her first night out since giving birth to son Callum when she fatally crossed paths with Jobson, who she had never met before.
The killer, who had been drinking vodka and taking cocaine, armed herself with a knife after a disturbance broke out in an alleyway, Newcastle Crown Court was told. Jobson stabbed unarmed Samantha multiple times in the face, arms and chest.
One of the blows pierced her lung and severed a major artery near her heart, meaning nothing could be done to save Samantha’s life. Jobson, from Walker in Newcastle, was convicted of murder and jailed for life. She was originally handed a minimum term of 15 years. However, after two separate appeals, that was reduced to 11 years.
Our Sam will now be shown at Whitley Bay Playhouse on January 30 and 31 before moving to the NE28 suite in Wallsend on February 7. It is then hoped it can tour around the country and be shown in schools and community venues.
Aware that Our Sam might trigger painful emotions among audience members Wild Roses have also arranged to have support groups and grief counselling organisations at performances.
For more information visit Wild Roses Theatre Group's Facebook page.