There was a sea of grey hair at this screening - I'm not being patronising

Fiennes often looks pained on screen, and his character has plenty of cause to be here as he conducts auditions, trying to find good singers and dealing with choir politics. The call is put out and young men - some from a local war hospital, others awaiting conscription - are among those recruited. The path to great art does not run smooth, despite Guthrie's efforts and exhortations. There's work to be done to make the piece performable by the forces at hand and the outside world has a way of intruding.