Bellow

Bellow opens in a calm, quietly transfixing manner. Theatremaker Gary Keegan and musician Danny O’Mahony begin by guiding us through the meta-conversation surrounding how the piece itself began, humorously debating whether it is a “show” or, as we artists like to say, a “piece” - the potential pretentiousness of that distinction certainly not lost on my fellow theatre-makers sitting in the audience. Carefully, the production introduces us not only to Danny O’Mahony the musician, but also to Danny the boy and the man standing before us on stage.

Danny’s journey is interwoven with stories, facts and demonstrations involving the significant accordions throughout his life, and the result is warm, funny, comforting, worrying and, at more than one point, deeply unsettling. This is the story of a musical prodigy, an experience very few of us could claim to understand first hand, and it feels like an honour simply to be in the room with him.

When Danny plays the accordion, I found myself holding my breath, drawn in equally by the instrument and the man who plays it, so closely intertwined that it becomes difficult to separate the two. There is a particularly poignant moment in which we hear nothing but air moving through the instrument, echoing young Danny’s breath. In that instant, it felt like our breathing became one.

What becomes clear is the price this prodigy has paid repeatedly for the extraordinary skill he has devoted himself to, and for the passion-perhaps obsession-that binds him to the accordion. This sense of unease is sharpened when we see 12-year-old Danny verbally abused by a music boss, a moment made more troubling by the apparent absence of any parental or adult safeguarding around him.

There is a desire by Danny and Gary not simply to listen to what Danny is trying to convey through the music, but to physically feel it - and use movement to express this. The production accomplishes this with remarkable aplomb, with special mention going to Emily Kilkenny Roddy, whose work deepens our understanding of the way art moves people, transforms them, and draws emotions to the surface.

The show promises a raw and deeply moving personal journey, and at no point does it disappoint. Not so much a traditional roar, but rather a quiet hollowing-out of human experience and emotion - a reminder that a roar does not always have to be loud; sometimes it exists entirely within us and sometimes the arts are the only way to express this.

There are too many surprises, moments and theatrical devices within this deftly crafted production for me to spoil them. Instead, hear me when I say this: it is absolutely worth experiencing for yourself.

A special mention must go to Gary’s remarkable ability to shift pace and emotion without warning, often through humour. In lesser hands, these abrupt directorial changes could feel jarring or awkward; here, they feel brave, exhilarating and entirely alive. Gary’s onstage direction of the action firmly roots him as the theatre-maker within the exchange - vital to the telling, yet respectfully stepping aside for the real story at the heart of the piece: Danny’s.

Sabine Dargent’s set and Sarah Jane Shiels’s lighting design perfectly establish the tone for this emotional journey, creating a world that feels both intimate and unsettling. Kudos must go to the entire production team.

I admit to not previously being aware of the work of this theatre company, or of Danny O’Mahony, Gary Keegan and Emily Kilkenny Roddy - but that is certainly something I intend to rectify in the future.

Bellow is at the Norwich Playhouse on Saturday 16 May at 7.30pm.