Alan Bennett is 91 years old and The Choral is his first original screenplay since 1984’s A Private Function. This fourth collaboration with director Nicholas Hytner (The History Boys) finds Bennett at the height of his powers as he enters his 10th decade. Ralph Fiennes (Conclave, MVFF47) stars as Dr. Henry Guthrie, new chorus master to Ramsden, Yorkshire’s Choral Society. With the Great War raging across the English Channel, the locals are suspicious of this imperious newcomer who has spent most of his career in Germany, while he faces the challenge of finding substitutes among the mill town’s depleted population for all the choir members off to battle. Guthrie further stirs controversy by updating Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius—to the composer’s horror—to suit the times for the annual choral. The ensemble cast in this spectacular drama is huge, as Bennett examines wartime’s effects on those left back home while celebrating the power of music. —Pam Grady
Nicholas Hytner
Nicholas Hytner has made four films with the writer Alan Bennett: The Madness of King George (1994, BAFTA winner for Best British Film), The History Boys (2006), The Lady in the Van (2015),and The Choral (2025). He was director of London’s National Theatre 2003–15 and founded the Bridge Theatre in 2017. He has directed opera in London, Paris, Munich, and Geneva and has won multiple Olivier and Tony awards.
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