EXXY | Battersea Arts Centre

EXXY is a truly captivating piece of theatre. The movement, set, sound, and lighting - all of it works together in harmony, allowing for the narrative to shine through. I learned a great deal from this piece, as someone without a disability. It was insightful and educational, but also deeply humanising.

Dan Daw spearheads the show, and we’re transported back to the Australian outback - where Dan recalls his most freeing childhood memories. He sits with his Nan in her garden, as she sings ‘The Power of Love’. Dan talks about growing up different, with cerebral palsy. He mentions his memories of the Australian saltbush - how it feels like a metaphor for life. He talks about how, between his Nan’s back garden and the doctor’s office in Adelaide, he felt the most seen. He didn’t have to hide his disability. He didn’t have to explain it. And most of all - he didn’t have to hide his drool.

He calls back to the friends he made in the doctor’s office - people who were like him. And then we meet the rest of this fantastic cast - Joe Brown, Tiiu Mortley, and Sofia Valdiri. All with their own disabilities. What’s lovely is that despite this piece being grounded in Dan’s childhood, each of these performers gets to share their own lives with us as well. We learn that Joe is from Glasgow and is cuddly shaped. Tiiu shares that her brown freckled body is a thing to behold. And Sofia lets us know that while she may seem sweet, she has a bite.

And through the powerful use of movement, we see how this 4-person ensemble experiences themselves in a world that doesn’t accommodate, understand or value them as they are. There are intense performative scenes of movement, where we see their bodies being pushed to the limit. By each other and by an external voice that forces them to dance, to keep moving, to keep running because ‘it’s easy, mate!’.

These movement pieces are often set to some really beautiful music that resonates in your chest and heart. There is a particular song that Dan and the ensemble dance to, and the lyric is something along the lines of ‘I can tour the world, I can’t butter my own bread’. In this show’s simplicity - both in structure and pacing - we find something deeply moving. Watching these performers push themselves, I can’t help but feel acutely aware of my own body.

There is a particularly moving dialogue between Dan and Joe that made me uncomfortable, in the best way possible. Dan and Joe are having a back-and-forth about who is the better version of cerebral palsy - is Joe better for his CP being more hidden/less obvious to the everyday person? Is Dan better off for his CP being more obvious and something that can get him to board a plane before everyone else?

The comparison game here is something so real and raw, it feels heavy at times. But the dialogue ends on a joke - and suddenly we’re all laughing and cheering. Ultimately, this moment is an example of what the show is like. There are deep moments of focus and intensity. But then there is lightness and laughter. There is pain in these experiences. But there is also community in them.

And so the show, very rightly so, asks us all: How do you continue to value yourself when society doesn’t value you? Dan Daw shows us that it’s about connecting to who we are, when we don’t feel anyone is watching us, expecting anything from us. It’s about connecting with those who share your experiences, and pushing each other, but also supporting each other. Dan Daw shows us that you can continue to value yourself by drooling. Letting the drool out, letting it fall out the way your body is, and being okay with that. Drool it up once a day, and just remember that you can survive and thrive in any body.

The show is 75 minutes long, but the time flies while watching these performers play. It is also a visual and auditory feast at times: with the incredibly simple and effective set by Kat Heath, the powerful sound design by Lewis Gibson (and composition by Guy Connelly), and the potent lighting design by Nao Nagai. The harmony between all of these incredible elements means that this show is seamless and transportative.

It is well worth the trip to Battersea Arts Centre, and is a show that rightfully deserves its time in the spotlight. Dan and Joe and Tiiu and Sofia demand it. You can’t seem to look away - and you don’t want to.

EXXY plays at Battersea Arts Centre until 10th October 2025.

Tickets and More Information

★★★★★ (5*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Hugo Glendinning