Quartet was released.
Quartet (1981 film) . It premiered at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival and was an entry for the Sélection Officielle ( Official Selection ) . Quartet is a 2012 British comedy-drama film based on the play Quartet by Ronald Harwood , which ran in London 's West End from September 1999 until January 2000 . Quartet (Harwood) . The play , presented by Michael Codron , was first directed by Christopher Morahan at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford prior to its West End opening at the Albery Theatre ( now the Noël Coward Theatre ) on 8 September 1999 starring Sir Donald Sinden , Alec McCowen , Stephanie Cole and Angela Thorne . Following a four-month run it closed on 8 January 2000 .