Updated May 3:

Edna O’Brien: Saints and Sinners

Gabriel Byrne and others will read from Ms. O’Brien’s work on May 25 at Symphony Space in New York City.

Learn more about Ms. O’Brien in this interview from February.

She has been, as the novelist Colum McCann puts it,
“the advance scout for the Irish imagination” for over half a century

A Tony for Ellen Barkin?

Ellen Barkin, in her Broadway debut, plays Dr. Emma Brookner in The Normal Heart.

According to CNN, Ms. Barkin has been nominated for a Tony for best performance by an actress in a featured role in a play, the play being “The Normal Heart.” Congratulations, Ellen!

Thanks to Cyth for the alert on this!

Please note: the update on the AIA Gala has been moved to the original Byrneholics posting about it.


May 2

Film Festival: Revisiting The Quiet Man: Ireland on Film

From the Museum of Modern Art website:

This exhibition, curated by renowned Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, takes The Quiet Man (1952), John Ford’s iconic portrayal of rural Ireland, as the starting point for an exploration of representations of Irish identity in cinema. Byrne has identified key themes in the film—an emigré’s sense of “home,” politics, the role of women, religion, and Irish identity—and selected films from and about Ireland that further develop and amplify them.

The festival runs May 20 – June 3. Films included in the schedule are:

The Quiet Man
The Magdalene Sisters
Dreaming The Quiet Man
The Dead
The Informer
This Other Eden
The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Kisses
The Butcher Boy
Darby O’Gill and the Little People
In the Name of the Father
Hunger
Into the West

BroadwayWorld tells us:

The exhibition opens with The Quiet Man, Ford’s romantic and rollicking vision of a pastoral Ireland that tells the story of a returned ex-boxer trying to settle back into the land of his birth and marry the girl of his dreams. A discussion with Byrne and other special guests will follow the screening on May 20.

Make your travel plans now for this inspiring event!

In Treatment, Season Two, in the UK

1. The Guardian interviewed Gabriel on April 26 in anticipation of the beginning of Season 2 of In Treatment on UK television. My favorite parts:

What public perception there is of him seems to extend little beyond “Irish”, “handsome” and – to use his least favourite yet the most popular description of him – “brooding”. (“I don’t even know what that means!” he complains, with – unfortunately for him – an expression close to brooding.)

Well, after meeting him, I can exclusively reveal that yes, he is Irish, and, yes, very handsome too, if, inevitably, a little more salted and grizzled than he was 20 years ago as the chilling but heart-meltingly beautiful Tom in Miller’s Crossing.

But while he is thoughtful, painstakingly at times, and frequently self-deprecating, he is far from “brooding”. He turns what was supposed to be a one-hour interview about a TV show in a cafe near his apartment in New York’s SoHo into a four-hour impassioned conversation, funny at some points, searing at others. I emerge from it faintly dizzy.

and

He also maintains a link to the past: the Bible, which he reads “for the fables”. What’s his favourite message in it? He raises his eyebrows: “Beware false prophets.”

Photo by Murdo Macleod, The Guardian

2. We had our Three Therapists here in the US, who shared their thoughts and critiques of Season 3 at the HBO website. The UK has their Four Therapists, interviewed briefly about Season 2 and asked the question: “How realistic is In Treatment?” Check out their answers!

3. And here is a review of the second season of In Treatment, as seen through British eyes.

The Emmys

GoldDerby is thinking about awards, as are we. They are speculating about possible nominations for Actor in a Leading Role (Drama), as are we. And they think Gabriel Byrne is a contender for his work as Paul Weston in In Treatment–as do we!

The official list of Emmy nominations will be announced July 14.

Thanks to Kris (USA), Nora, Det. Logan, and everyone who provided the heads up on Mr. Byrne’s activities!

And stay tuned for more news soon. Someone is celebrating a birthday this month!

4 Comments

  1. Thanks for sharing all this.
    Thanks must go to LHL and not me for sharing the poem link, I just put it on the front page.
    It would be great if both Gabriel and Ellen got prizes for their great work. They are both very talented.

  2. Sexy and serious

  3. Very good description Sophia!

  4. Happy Birthday to the most interesting and exciting man in the world, Gabriel Byrne.

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