Type – Contemporary dance, abstract, multi-disciplinary, disabled artists
EXXY: For disabled dance artist Dan Daw, the struggle to be accepted and unique doesn’t come cheap
Dan Daw is a disabled, Australian performer and producer who’s now based in the UK. In 2023, he brought his work The Dan Daw Show to Sydney and now he returns with Exxy, a large-scale work playing at Sydney Opera House’s Drama Theatre as a part of Sydney Festival.
Dan’s previous dance performance works have given unadulterated insight into his experience as a gay man with cerebral palsy and his unique and art-covered physique. I was lucky enough to chat to Daw last month about Exxy, and despite the clear symbols and references discussed, I struggled to picture what this production might look like. Still it’s hard to describe; a multi-disciplinary, raw, heavy and heartfelt storytelling through dance.
Daw says, “This work has four performers including myself (Joe Brown, Sofia Valdiri and Tiiu Mortley), and they’re extraordinarily talented and beautiful humans who I invited to join me in this work because their physicality is very similar to my own. It felt important to find a way I could soften, and surrounding myself with bodies similar to my own gives me something that I don’t find myself being able to do very often in the world. It’s very rare that I’ll pass another body on the street like mine. We’re essentially there to tell the story of ‘what would it be like if everyone in the world moved like I did’”.
Accessible Theatre
The work opens with content warnings, as well as a quick demo that familiarises the audience with the performers, the level and kind of sounds to expect from the piece (electronic house music), and the type, frequency and intensity of the lighting design. Each performer introduces themselves, giving us personality and physical attribute self-descriptions that are charming and deeply insightful. This is followed by a spoken intro that encourages everyone to do whatever they need to be most comfortable to be able to best enjoy the performance. Hello accessibility!
Set on home soil
Set in his Nan’s rural South Australian back garden, there’s a a large, solid, rusty backdrop, three-quarters of the width of the stage that is patchworked with sections of old corrugated iron, like a shed roof that’s had many fix jobs. As the performers talk, their spoken text is up on the surtitle screen which is sprinkled with funny commentary and audience engagement direction, with the words often fading into and intertwining with other phrases being projected on the rusty backdrop behind. At opening, hanging wonkily from the roof, we see a bus sized, horizontal rectangular wooden frame that borders a huge promotional photo with Dan’s face on it – like a thicker version of the paper banners players run through at the start of AFL games.
On each corner of the stage is a folding chair facing the centre surrounded by mounds of saltbush (a hardy shrub commonly found near Whyalla [SA] that thrives on neglect and is an extremely valuable part of its ecosystem). Near the front, a heavy net hangs from the ceiling to the floor to protect the audience from hundreds of balls about to be launched onto stage. Daw talks about the many reasons he loves saltbush, while the poster of his face behind him is being battered to smithereens.
Daw brings us into his childhood world, talking about the monthly, 9-hour return trip they’d make to the big city. The text is poetic and disarmingly truthful; “the garden outback, this is where I would play. With Nan I could relax and trip over my feet as many times, and let the drool fall freely and get dessert even when I’ve not finished meal time” He says that the hospital waiting room was where he’d see other kids that moved, sounded and even drooled like him. “In Nan’s back garden and in the hospital waiting room is where I belonged. Not performing for strangers. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt rested since.” he says.
Structure and Style
The script is not really chronological or plot driven, but rather a compilation of demonstrations of shared experiences through movement, and deeply immersive sound and visuals. A particularly powerful scene sees the four performers lined up with their names being called out over a speakerphone. Doing the ‘beep test’ in high school was bad enough, and this felt like a deranged, nightmarish, suffocating version of that. They twirl and twist and dance until they drop, grimacing as they falter, moving in pairs and alone as their names echo through the theatre drowning out their exhausted puffing breaths. The sound, set and lighting design work so harmoniously, it fuels an all-consuming 90 minutes of theatre.
“I worked so hard to find flowers, but really I just needed saltbush. Strong, resilient and powerful – It doesn’t just survive through the concrete, but it busts through. It busts through the soil that never welcomed it, growing in new and unexpected ways. A story about self worth.”
Is EXXY Worth Seeing in SYDNEY?
Dan’s Nan was in the audience at the Australian Premiere last night. When I think about what a beautiful and moving experience it was for me, I cant help but tear up thinking about how special that must have been for them both.
Filled with snippets of their experiences, giving us delightful, depressing and funny insights to each of the performers, Exxy is a powerful, abstract and thought-provoking work that shows the unique value disabled people bring to the arts. I hope more mainstream Australian theatres and arts festivals give works like this a go, because it was a privilege to share in; such truthful and raw insight into the resilience disabled people have no choice but to embody.
I’m not usually a fan of audience engagement, but this experience was truly unique, using connection to bridge the gap between audience and performer. I left feeling enveloped by hope, connection, and ‘the power of love’.
Tickets and Practical Info for EXXY in SYDNEY 🎟️
Plying 15 – 18 January, 2026
The show runs for approximately 90 minutes with no interval.
Creative Team:
Artistic Director – Dan Daw
Co-Director – Sarah Blanc
Dramaturg & Co-Writer – Brian Lobel
Set & Costume Designer – Kat Heath
Lighting Design – Nao Nagai
Composer – Guy Connelly
Sound Designer – Lewis Gibson
Video & Creative Caption Designer – Sarah Readman
Costume Supervisor – Izzie Byers
Production Team:
Executive Director & Producer – Liz Counsell
Production Manager – Froud
Technical Stage Manager – Emily Winsor
Access & Producing Assistant – Georgie Luppi
Access Support Worker – Lottie Vallis
Producing Fellow – Erin Clark
Performers & Collaborators:
Dan Daw
Tiiu Mortley
Joseph Brown
Sofia Valdiri
