Jake Mace
Content Warning: Discussion of Sexual Abuse
Izzy Kate Ward’s drag persona Mr P From HR is headed to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe next month, and Izzy is digging in at prescient events in the world through the character, who she describes as “not only a creative expression but a timely exploration of a critical societal issue”. Well, enough of dancing around the topic from me – join me and Izzy for a pixelated pint to find out what we can expect from Mr P’s arrival in Edinburgh.
You can catch Mr P From HR from August 18th – 23rd at Theatre 2 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 22:00 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jake: Hi Izzy, in your upcoming EdFringe drag performance you play the head of HR at a luxury department store called ‘Gayrods’ – tell us about your character Mr P and what inspired the show.
Izzy: Mr P is the suave, unshakeable Head of HR at Gayrods. Posing as “the world’s biggest luxury department store” he presents a very glossy surface but conceals something much darker with murky secrets underneath the store’s marble floors. He’s the kind of charming team leader who weaponises phrases like “we’re a family here” just so he can gaslight you into staying silent. I was inspired to create Mr P from HR as a drag king piece because of an actual HR induction I had at a famous department store who have been facing serious SA allegations. I wanted to explore the apparent allure of charismatic male characters which we are seeing having a large cultural moment in world politics.
Everyday we are witnessing new sexual abuse allegations against famous, influential men so I wanted to expose how institutional power and charisma combine to protect abusers and silence victims. I was so angry that spaces I worked in and people I know brand themselves as “progressive” or “inclusive” however they work tirelessly to protect and cover for sexual abusers. The show is a satire, but it’s rooted in very real dynamics I’ve seen and experienced myself. Even though this show centres around the iron fist of the corporate world, I want to express that I see this behaviour every day in spaces where harm is often covered by performance of allyship. Sexual abuse and its protectors do not discriminate.
Jake: Tell us about what the audience can expect coming into the show, and what they might not expect about the show.
Izzy: Expect to have a good time but then immediately question why you’re enjoying it. As the show is a cabaret, it makes a harrowing topic more palatable and lighthearted for an audience. It leaves them with a more in depth understanding of someone else’s struggle whilst still maybe, perhaps, letting out a little laugh or ten. I’ve used mock corporate training procedures and audience participation to immerse the audience into Mr P’s world where everything will be “handled internally”. Ultimately, I wanted it to feel dirty and intentionally uncomfortable. What audiences might not expect is how personal and raw it becomes. Beneath the sparkle of satire is a serious confrontation with complicity in rape culture. There’s no fourth wall. Mr P needs your validation, and he’ll do absolutely anything to get it.
Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?
Izzy: I hope audiences leave thinking about the systems they work and live within, especially how the institutions we trust can become vehicles for abuse when image is prioritised over accountability. I want people to question how power hides in plain sight and how often harm is dressed up in charm (in the case of our Mr P). What happens when those who speak out are punished, and those who stay quiet are promoted? And how do we stop that cycle? I want people to question that if 1 in 4 women have been raped or sexually assaulted, why do charges only end up of 3.5% of those reported? And why do 5 in 6 women who are raped not report it?
Mainly though, I want survivors in the room and beyond to feel seen. We are here with you and I’m here to take down men like Mr P and perpetrators of crime one job induction at a time.
Jake: With Edinburgh Fringe 2025 just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Izzy: I’m excited to share space with other boundary-pushing, queer and survivor-led work. The Fringe can be a hard place for heavy themes but also a brilliant site for disruption. I’m looking forward to late-night artist chats with a wine in hand, weird shows in weirder basements and meeting the kind of audiences who are up for interactive chaos with gusto. I’m also just excited to be in front of a crowd again – there’ve been too many promotional videos to do and not enough silly HR songs to be sung.
Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Izzy: Mr P from HR would be a “Toxic Masculini-tea” (my take on a Long Island Iced Tea). It’s a bit trashy because it houses every powerful spirit in one glass… much like the many institutional power structures that protect abusers. It’s always too much, too fast, and you think you’re safe until it’s too late. A horrific hangover will ensue.
A reminder, you can catch Mr P From HR from August 18th – 23rd at Theatre 2 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 22:00 (55mins). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Online Box Office.
Jasmine Silk
Lamesha Ruddock
