Trailblazing productions head to Leeds Playhouse as part of exciting Transform festival

EXXY and The Last Supper explore life and art to give audiences two energising theatrical experiences.

Transform, the UK’s leading festival for inclusive, international performance, is bringing two extraordinary productions to Leeds Playhouse next month.

EXXY, which runs in the Courtyard Theatre at the Playhouse on 22-23 October, explores how you continue to value yourself when society doesn’t value you.

Dan Daw, a Queer, crippled dance artist, is feeling the pressure to stay at the top of his game after the smash-hit world tour of his last show, The Dan Daw Show. Audacious, vulnerable and tender, EXXY (Aussie slang for “that’s expensive mate”) is about imposter syndrome and fluctuating self-worth. Set against the backdrop of the Australian outback, the production takes us back to where Dan began – working class, with very little – to reflect on how far he has come.

Joined by three performers who walk and talk like him, Dan is comforted by the possibility of finally being able to blend in after a lifetime of standing out.

Food, farewells, religion and transition are at the heart of Brazilian artist collective MEXA performance banquet, The Last Supper, in the Courtyard on 25 October.

MEXA was formed in 2015 following episodes of gender-based violence in homeless shelters in São Paulo. The group has lost members along the way; some current members think they too might soon be gone. The Last Supper is a feast of melancholy and joy. Life and art merge; theatre and the street meet; autobiography intertwines with religious references. Queering Western art historical perspectives, MEXA create their own Last Supper, with a party atmosphere and a powerful sense of solidarity.

Amy Letman, Creative Director of Transform, said: “These two significant productions at Leeds Playhouse as part of Transform 25 signify the types of trailblazing, bold and impactful performance both partners are committed to presenting through their partnership. The Last Supper by MEXA represents a return to Leeds for this inspirational Brazil company who engaged sell-out audiences at our last festival; whilst EXXY by Dan Daw will be an arresting, emotive exploration of representation from the perspective of one of the UK’s leading disabled artists. We can’t wait for audiences to feel inspired and energised by such contemporary, fresh and compelling international performances.”

Discover the full Transform 25 programme here.