Ralph Fiennes, Jim Broadbent & Simon Russell Beale To Star In Nicholas Hytner-Alan Bennett Reteam ‘The Choral’; SPC Lands Rights

Director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett are collaborating again, with The Lady in the Van, The History Boys and The Madness of King George duo set to team on The Choral, which will star Ralph Fiennes, Jim Broadbent and Simon Russell Beale. Production begins in May in Yorkshire, according to Sony Pictures Classics, which said Wednesday that it has acquired all worldwide rights to the pic.

Unlike their previous collaborations that were based on Tony-winning playwright Bennett’s stage plays, this is an original screenplay. Set in Ramsden, Yorkshire in 1916, the plot centers on the chorus master and most of the men of the ambitious local Choral Society, who have volunteered for the front. Under the direction of the demanding, driven Dr. Guthrie (Fiennes), the Choral recruits a crop of teenage boys and girls. Together they discover the joys of singing and the urgency of desire as the new boys come to terms with their imminent conscription into the army. The pic explores the humor and humanity at the heart of a community facing an uncertain future.

“A new screenplay from Alan Bennett is a major event and The Choral is as affecting and funny as anything he’s written in his long career,” Hytner said. “I am thrilled to be continuing my collaboration with him, and with the three remarkable leading actors.”

Hytner will produce alongside Kevin Loader and Damian Jones. Caroline Charles, Eva Yates, Paul Grindey, and Charles Moore are executive producers. The pic was financed by Sony Pictures Classics, which previously distributed the Maggie Smith-starring Lady in the Van, along with BBC Film and Screen Yorkshire.

Sony will release the film theatrically worldwide, including in the UK.