⭐️
Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
I went into The Dan Daw Show not really knowing what to expect. What unfolded on stage was unlike anything I’ve seen before. Dan Daw, a disabled dancer, used the language of kink and power play to tell his story. It was raw, confronting and at times deeply uncomfortable to watch, but I suspect that was entirely the point.
There were moments that felt deliberately challenging, pushing the audience to sit with their own reactions. For me, though, it just didn’t connect. I found it unsettling, and not in a way that opened up new perspectives. While some people in the theatre clearly found meaning and value in the performance, they felt like a minority, at least from where I was sitting.
It’s a bold piece of work, no question, but not one that I personally enjoyed. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who might be sensitive to themes of domination, submission or explicit explorations of kink.