Bellow, the first Under the Radar production to ever take place at midtown Manhattan’s Irish Arts Center, tells the extraordinary real-life story of one of Ireland’s foremost accordionists, Danny O’Mahony, a man who has dedicated his life to the preservation of traditional Irish music and to the mastery of his craft. Bellow takes the audience on a raw, intimate, deeply personal journey of self-reflection, passion, and the pursuit of artistic purpose. Bellow weaves together past and present as Danny revisits pivotal moments in his life, his first taste of music as a child, the mentors who shaped him, and the unrelenting pursuit of mastery that left room for little else. Alongside Danny’s sublime live playing, Bellow features an original electronic composition by Valgier Siggurdson, new writing and contemporary dance, heightening the tension between past and present. Bellow at Irish Arts Center is a unique and astonishingly beautiful theatre performance exploring what it means to be an artist.

Note: This performance contains strobe lighting, haze, and loud noises.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Brokentalkers are an internationally renowned theatre company, based in Dublin, Ireland, led by Co-Artistic Directors Feidlim Cannon and Gary Keegan with Creative Producer Rachel Bergin. Described as “one of Ireland’s most fearless and path-breaking theatre companies,” Brokentalkers make formally ambitious work that defies categorization. They devise original, accessible live performance and explore new forms that challenge traditional ideologies of text-based theatre. Their working method is founded on a collaborative process that draws on the skills and experiences of a large and diverse group of contributors from different disciplines and backgrounds, including professional artists, performers, designers and writers alongside others who do not usually work in the theatre but who bring an authenticity to the work that is compelling. They make work that responds to the contemporary world, using elements such as original writing, dance, film, interviews, found materials and music to represent that world in performance. They regularly work within the participatory arts sector, collaborating with groups and communities to produce works of artistic excellence. These works, which are often co-authored and performed by non-professional collaborators, have been presented in international festivals throughout the world. Brokentalkers’ previous works performed in New York include Silver Stars (Under the Radar), Have I No Mouth (Coil Festival), and Masterclass (NYU Skirball).

Danny O’Mahony is a traditional musician from Ballyduff in North County Kerry. He grew up playing music with the older generation of musicians in his locality. His late father Mick had a very positive influence on Danny as a young child and nurtured his keen ear and interest in traditional Irish music. Both imaginative and fearless in his interpretation, Danny’s musical style is expressive and deeply personal, and reflects his affinity with the music of past masters. His performance abilities have been acknowledged through winning Junior & Senior All-Ireland titles and graduating from the University of Limerick with a Masters in Performance. In 2013 Danny was awarded Top Button Accordionist (US, IRE, EU, UK) by the Irish Music Association in America. In 2011, Danny released his long awaited and critically acclaimed debut solo album In Retrospect, accompanied by Patsy Broderick on piano, Cyril O’Donoghue on bouzouki and Johnny ‘Ringo’ McDonagh on percussion. He collaborated with concertina maestro Mícheál Ó Raghallaigh in 2012 and released their duet album, aptly titled As It Happened. This features Danny and Mícheál playing unaccompanied in the comfort of Mícheál’s kitchen. As It Happened was awarded Instrumental Album of the year by LiveIreland Music Awards. In recent years Danny has been collaborating with leading Irish theatre company Brokentalkers on Bellow, which features his personal story and his music. Bellow was presented in Project Arts Centre, Droichead Arts Centre and The Everyman in 2024.

Irish Arts Center, founded in 1972 and based in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, is a home for artists and audiences of all backgrounds who share a passion or appreciation for the evolving arts and culture of contemporary Ireland and Irish America. We present, develop, and celebrate work from established and emerging artists and cultural practitioners, providing audiences with emotionally and intellectually engaging experiences in an environment of Irish hospitality. Steeped in grassroots traditions, we also provide community education programs and access to the arts for people of all ages and ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In a historic partnership of the people of Ireland and New York, Irish Arts Center recently completed construction on a fully-funded $60MM state-of-the-art new facility to support this mission for the 21st century.

CREDITS

FUNDING + SUPPORT

Bellow is funded by The Arts Council of Ireland.
Co-Produced by The Everyman, Droichead Arts Centre, Mermaid Arts Centre and Town Hall Theatre Galway.
Supported by Dublin Theatre Festivals Futures Award.
Additional generous support provided by Culture Ireland.

Irish Arts Center programs are supported, in part, by government, foundation, and corporate partners including Culture Ireland, the agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide; public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office and the New York City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; the National Endowment for the Arts; Howard Gilman Foundation; Tourism Ireland; the Jerome L. Greene Foundation; the Brandt Jackson Foundation; the Adrian Brinkerhoff Poetry Foundation; the Charina Endowment Fund; the Ireland Funds; the Shubert Foundation, Inc.; the Arnhold Foundation; the Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater; the Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; the Irish Institute of New York; the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, New York; Northern Ireland Bureau; Invest NI; CIE Tours; M&T Bank; the Dead Rabbit; the NYC Tourism Foundation; the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Consulate of Ireland in New York; and thousands of generous private donors and members.

SOCIALS