The Australian theatermaker shows us what turns him on.
It is an unspoken expectation that the disabled be demure and inspirational, should they choose to be visible at all. But Dan Daw refuses to cooperate. The 41-year-old Australian theatermaker was born with cerebral palsy. He’s also something of a kinkster and shows us what he’s into in The Dan Daw Show, now making its New York debut with Under the Radar at Performance Space New York. Shocking for some, empowering for others, The Dan Daw Show seems to be created with a goal of demystifying disabled people’s sexuality by throwing us into the deep end.
Performed on a mostly empty stage, the 80-minute piece features Daw and dancer Thomasin Gülgeç (here called ThomX) in a series of BDSM interactions. ThomX is very much the dom, ordering Dan into physical contortions (he is remarkably flexible), spitting in his mouth, and at one point standing on his chest. Daw seems to particularly enjoy his time in a vacuum cube. The black latex wraps around his body like a superhero costume. He describes it as a “massive, expensive, taxpayer-funded hug.” Exhibitionism is clearly a huge turn-on, but that’s to be expected with an actor.
Even Daw has his limits, though: At one point, ThomX orders him to stand up on a massage table and, after making a good-faith effort, Daw yelps out, “SPOONS,” his safe word. Even-toned and apologetic, ThomX asks if his discomfort has anything to do with his disability. “No,” Daw retorts, “my vertigo.”
While Daw and ThomX do occasionally speak into microphones, especially at the beginning when Daw offers a list of trigger warnings and emphasizes that he has consented to everything we’re about to see, much is left unsaid. There’s little explanation of the various sexual acts and their appeal. That knowledge is assumed, making the piece feel a bit like a demo at International Mr. Leather for pro doms interested in expanding their services to a disabled clientele.
But who wants to listen to a dry academic seminar on kink? That would immediately dispel the breathless tension that director Mark Maughan so masterfully achieves through Nao Nagai’s dark gameshow lighting and Guy Connelly’s pulsing electronic music, which instantly transports us to a back room at the Black Party. Emma Bailey costumes the dancers in cheap activewear — perfect to activate one’s working-class fetish, and easy enough to shed.
Gülgeç, who has stepped in for original co-star Christopher Owen, proves to be particularly adept in creating an atmosphere of sustained anticipation, shooting Daw smoldering come-hither glances throughout the show and rubbing his dark curls all over his abdomen like an animal marking its territory. The overwhelming feeling is of tenderness and attentiveness, even as ThomX places his feet on Daw’s back like he’s an ottoman. It’s hard not to share Daw’s joy as ThomX twirls him around on his own body, the centrifugal force briefly allowing the earthbound performer to fly.
While Daw never shies away from his disability, he never emphasizes it either. That makes The Dan Daw Show relatable for anyone who has ever felt constrained by the limitations of their own body and the expectations of society. Unfortunately, that’s the S&M for which there is no safe word.