Updated January 13, 2023

Unfortunately, RTÉ has removed the film from YouTube, so it is no longer available.

Click this link to read the Byrneholics postings about this lovely documentary.


January 3, 2018

What a great way to start the New Year!

Thanks to the generosity of an unknown lovely person, Gabriel’s new documentary, My Astonishing Self: Gabriel Byrne on George Bernard Shaw, which aired recently on RTÉ in Ireland, is now available on YouTube.

Enjoy and be sure to leave a comment here.

Happy New Year! heart

A still of Gabriel Byrne from the film

6 Comments

  1. Kim Serrahn

    Good job.

  2. Dear Stella,
    Thank you so much for sharing this lovely, contemplative, personal film essay on GBS. Even as a student of literature, I never really understood much about the man. Gabriel Byrne was the ideal host for so many reasons. The scenes in Shaw’s former school were delightful, as Mr. Byrne, himself a former teacher, obviously enjoyed engaging with the young students.

    Shaw’s work endures in Canada thanks to the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake. This film inspires me to plan another visit this summer. The moral concerns in his plays resound even more forcefully today.

    • You are most welcome, Angelle. I will write more about this lovely documentary soon. I’ve been in touch with the writer/director, Gerry Hoban. He did such a lovely job (the marionette was inspired!) and Gabriel was a great interpreter of his words. And, of course, some of Gabriel’s dialogue is his own, which is a moving addition to the film, I think. I’ve loved GBS ever since I saw the film Pygmalion, with Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller, when I was a teenager. My mom was a big Leslie Howard fan. I had no idea what My Fair Lady was, but I knew the play! Isn’t this a nice way to start the New Year: GB and GBS?! All the best to you and your family in 2018, Angelle! <3

  3. It is a wonderful documentary.
    I love it!

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