Failed Artist Society

Your favourite mediocre drag kings are back, and we’re… well, we’re pretty angry, to be honest. Aren’t you?

The Trial of Jake A takes gender bureaucracy to court, interrogating the rooms of (mostly) men in wigs who get to decide how the rest of us perform our gender. Blending historic accounts, drag, and theatre, this work deconstructs the courtroom — revealing it to be a private pantomime where public rights are at stake. Emma, Ellie, and Rose explore queerness in the courtroom and hold up a mirror to the trans panic plaguing us today.

The Trial of Jake A (working title) is a continuation of the collaboration between Ellie, Emma Bourke, and Rose Wilson (Failed Artist Society). A ten minute excerpt was performed at Word of Warning/Contacts Social Experiment in February 2026 and is in development, pending funding.