{ "id": "epv6a4phwj", "slug": "bono-stories-of-surrender", "title": "Bono: Stories of Surrender", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form", "label": "Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": 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"Films by genre, form, and subject", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary", "label": "Documentary and biographical films", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Bono: Stories of Surrender is a 2025 Apple TV+ black-and-white documentary directed by Andrew Dominik, adapting Bono's one-man Beacon Theatre stage show based on his 2022 memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.", "snippet": "Bono: Stories of Surrender is a 2025 Apple TV+ black-and-white documentary directed by Andrew Dominik, adapting Bono's one-man Beacon Theatre stage show based on his 2022 memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.genre-form.documentary.documentary-feature-works", "markdown": "# Bono: Stories of Surrender\n\n**Bono: Stories of Surrender** is a 2025 documentary and concert film on Apple TV+ in which the U2 singer Bono (Paul David Hewson) performs his one-man stage show, telling stories from his life between stripped-down renditions of U2 songs. Directed by [Andrew Dominik](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-dominik) and shot in black and white at New York's Beacon Theatre, it adapts the stage show \"Stories of Surrender: An Evening of Words, Music and Some Mischief…\", which Bono created from his 2022 memoir *Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story*.[1](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/bono-stories-of-surrender/) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/46f7b03ea09d80f36975e5eb230fba0b)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | Apple TV+, May 30, 2025; premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025[1](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/bono-stories-of-surrender/) • [3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) |\n| Director | Andrew Dominik (*Blonde*, *Killing Them Softly*)[2](https://apnews.com/article/46f7b03ea09d80f36975e5eb230fba0b) |\n| Source | One-man stage show adapted from the 2022 memoir *Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story*[2](https://apnews.com/article/46f7b03ea09d80f36975e5eb230fba0b) |\n| Filming | Beacon Theatre, New York, during the 2023 run of the show, over several nights[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bono-stories-of-surrender-apple-tv-documentary-film-review-2025) • [5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462) |\n| Format | Black-and-white film, 86 minutes, part spoken word and part solo music performance[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/bono-stories-of-surrender) • [5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462) |\n| Stage musicians | Arranger Jacknife Lee, harpist and vocalist Gemma Doherty, cellist Kate Ellis[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/05/29/bono-documentary-u2-songs-of-surrender-film-apple-tv/) |\n| Reception | Metascore 59 from 15 reviews; Rotten Tomatoes 77%[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35931046/criticreviews/) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/bono-stories-of-surrender) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Content of the show\n\nBono performs alone, without his U2 bandmates [Adam Clayton](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-clayton), David \"The Edge\" Evans, and Larry Mullen Jr, on a starkly lit stage with a few pieces of furniture standing in for key figures in his life.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) • [5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462) He opens by conceding that \"writing a memoir is a whole other level of navel-gazing,\" and the film begins with the 2016 operation on what he calls his \"eccentric\" heart, which prompted the question \"How did I get here?\"[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/05/29/bono-documentary-u2-songs-of-surrender-film-apple-tv/) • [5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462)\n\n**Family stories carry the show.** Bono's mother, Iris, collapsed and died at her own father's funeral when Bono was 14; his father, Bob, never mentioned her again, and his grief found an outlet in classical music. Bono recounts their barbed, bantering relationship, which only admitted affection at Bob's deathbed; Bob died of cancer in 2001.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) • [10](https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/celebrity/2025/05/27/bonos-stories-of-surrender) On stage, Bono plays both father and son in recreated pub meetings, with his father present as an empty chair and a glass of Black Bush whiskey.[5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462)\n\nThe narrative also covers his Dublin childhood, U2's rise to global fame, the band's early-1980s crisis of faith within the devout Christian sect Shalom, and his post-[Live Aid](https://www.edgepedia.org/live-aid) activism on poverty and famine relief, all interspersed with unplugged versions of U2 standards accompanied by harp and cello.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) • [5](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462) The film closes with \"The Showman (Little More Better)\" from U2's album *Songs of Experience*, the most recent song in the film by many years.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/05/30/bonos-memoir-gets-third-iteration-this-time-small-screen/)\n\n## Origin: memoir, stage show, film\n\nThe project grew in stages from Bono's memoir *Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story*, published in 2022. A complicated cardiac operation in 2016 had led him to re-examine his life, a process that produced the book; to mark its publication he devised a one-man show and toured intimate theaters in the United States and Europe.[9](https://elpais.com/television/2025-06-06/bono-cuenta-su-vida-y-sus-traumas-en-un-monologo-todo-resulta-intenso-como-es-el.html) • [10](https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/celebrity/2025/05/27/bonos-stories-of-surrender) Bono co-wrote the show with Bill Flanagan, a writer and longtime U2 collaborator.[10](https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/celebrity/2025/05/27/bonos-stories-of-surrender) The Washington Post noted the precedent of *Springsteen on Broadway*, the solo show [Bruce Springsteen](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-springsteen) built from his own autobiography.[11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/05/30/bonos-memoir-gets-third-iteration-this-time-small-screen/)\n\nThe film is the third iteration of the same material, after the book and the stage tour. Andrew Dominik filmed it live on stage at the [Beacon Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/beacon-theatre-new-york-city) in 2023, and the movie also includes never-before-seen exclusive footage from the tour.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bono-stories-of-surrender-apple-tv-documentary-film-review-2025) • [1](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/bono-stories-of-surrender/) Some parts were recorded with an audience and others without.[9](https://elpais.com/television/2025-06-06/bono-cuenta-su-vida-y-sus-traumas-en-un-monologo-todo-resulta-intenso-como-es-el.html)\n\n## Release and formats\n\nThe film premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025, and began streaming on Apple TV+ on May 30.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) • [2](https://apnews.com/article/46f7b03ea09d80f36975e5eb230fba0b) Alongside the standard 2D version, Apple released an edition for the [Apple Vision Pro](https://www.edgepedia.org/apple-vision-pro) headset as the first feature-length film in the Apple Immersive Video format.[12](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/apple-tv-plus/everything-new-on-apple-tv-plus-in-may-2025) • [13](https://www.netflixmovies.com/bono-stories-of-surrender-2025) Apple rates the film TV-MA; the runtime is 86 minutes.[1](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/bono-stories-of-surrender/) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/bono-stories-of-surrender)\n\n## Reception\n\nCritics generally responded to the intimacy of the format. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called it a confident, often engaging mix of music and no-frills theatrical performance in which Bono works to find a new register of humility.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility) NME scored it 80, calling the stage show \"unmissable\" as a film, and Screen Daily's Nikki Baughan described \"an intense baring of the soul that is part performance, part confessional and all entertainment.\"[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35931046/criticreviews/) The film's Metascore settled at 59 from 15 reviews, while its audience score on IMDb is 7.2.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35931046/criticreviews/) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/bono-stories-of-surrender) Reviewers noted that the audience is kept almost entirely out of focus, with the film performed for the camera rather than the crowd.[14](https://www.avclub.com/BONO-STORIES-OF-SURRENDER-REVIEW)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Bono: Stories of Surrender, Apple TV Press](https://www.apple.com/tv-pr/originals/bono-stories-of-surrender/)\n2. [Bono: 'The world has never been closer to a world war in my lifetime', AP News](https://apnews.com/article/46f7b03ea09d80f36975e5eb230fba0b)\n3. [Bono: Stories of Surrender review – megastar tries out humility in likable one-man show, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/may/16/bono-stories-of-surrender-review-megastar-tries-out-humility)\n4. [Bono: Stories of Surrender movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bono-stories-of-surrender-apple-tv-documentary-film-review-2025)\n5. [U2 singer Bono lays his life bare in one-man stage show Stories of Surrender, ABC News](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-02/bono-stories-of-surrender/105347462)\n6. [Bono: Stories of Surrender streaming: watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/bono-stories-of-surrender)\n7. [Bono: Stories of Surrender review, The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2025/05/29/bono-documentary-u2-songs-of-surrender-film-apple-tv/)\n8. [Bono: Stories of Surrender (2025) – Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35931046/criticreviews/)\n9. [Bono cuenta su vida (y sus traumas) en un monólogo, El País](https://elpais.com/television/2025-06-06/bono-cuenta-su-vida-y-sus-traumas-en-un-monologo-todo-resulta-intenso-como-es-el.html)\n10. [Bono's Stories of Surrender: Family and Music, The New Daily](https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/entertainment/celebrity/2025/05/27/bonos-stories-of-surrender)\n11. [Bono's memoir gets a third iteration, this time on the small screen, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/2025/05/30/bonos-memoir-gets-third-iteration-this-time-small-screen/)\n12. [Everything new on Apple TV Plus in May 2025, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/apple-tv-plus/everything-new-on-apple-tv-plus-in-may-2025)\n13. [Watch Bono: Stories of Surrender, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/bono-stories-of-surrender-2025)\n14. [Bono: Stories Of Surrender review, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/BONO-STORIES-OF-SURRENDER-REVIEW)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Individual documentary feature films*\n\n*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Bono: Stories of Surrender\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Bono: Stories of Surrender](https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender](https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Bono: Stories of Surrender\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/bono-stories-of-surrender. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Bono: Stories of Surrender is a 2025 Apple TV+ black-and-white documentary directed by Andrew Dominik, adapting Bono's one-man Beacon Theatre stage show based on his 2022 memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story." }