The High Cost of Belonging: Dan Daw’s ‘EXXY’In Australian culture, “EXXY” refers to something being expensive. To Dan Daw – an up-and-coming queer cripple artist – the term is a whole lot more than that. It represents the expense of holding onto self-respect in a world that was never meant for you.
EXXY, presented by The Lowry in association with SICK! Festival, takes you into the outback of Australia as it explores the true price of success in the complex balancing act of feeling good enough in a society where you’ve always felt othered.
Strength in Numbers
Dan Daw isn’t alone in his exploration. He’s surrounded by three dancers whose movement reflects their physicality and represents the embodiment of their inner experience. Together they:
- Reflect their motion and energy.
- Chaos-reflect their form in order to question the ability to fit into society.
- Multiply their energy in the quest to see if blending in was ever possible.
- Brave, Unsteady, and Human
Through a visually daring and humorous narrative, EXXY offers no quick solutions. Rather, it embraces all the contradictions that make Daw who he is – confident but unsure, strong and fragile, and yearning for acceptance whilst fiercely unique.
It’s an exploration of our own price tags and asks us to consider: what price do we pay for staying on top?
Performance Info
Where: Quays Theatre, The Lowry, When: 6 & 7 May 2026, 8:00 PM
Accessibility: All performances are Relaxed and Captioned (BSL and Audio Described on 7 May).