The Choral12A

Directed by Nicholas Hytner | UK | 2025 | 1h 53m | Starring Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, Emily Fairn, Roger Allam, Alun Armstrong

As the First World War rages on the Western Front, the Choral Society in Ramsden, Yorkshire, has lost most of its men to the army. With the annual performance approaching, the society must bend its rules, enlisting a group of unlikely teenagers and the musically gifted, but socially scandalous, Dr. Guthrie. Ralph Fiennes leads an outstanding ensemble cast in this charming and poignant wartime drama, written by celebrated playwright Alan Bennett.

Reviews

‘A quiet and consistent pleasure: an unsentimental but deeply felt drama which subcontracts actual passion to the music of Elgar and leaves us with a heartbeat of wit, poignancy and common sense’
★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

‘The Choral is inevitably at its best when digging about in the subterranean reality beneath a curious attempt to stage a musical work with a handful of teenage boys.’
★★★★
Kevin Maher, The Times

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed The Choral between November 28, 2025 and December 11, 2025.

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What else is on?

Today (Thursday 8th October)

18:30

Bad Apples 15
1h 41m
A teacher at a struggling school kidnaps her most disruptive pupil and locks him in her basement, then watches the rest of the class flourish. Saoirse Ronan stars in this satirical black comedy about how doing the wrong thing sometimes gives the right result.

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21:00

MISSNOMA Women’s DJ Collective N/A
The Oxford-based women’s DJ collective MISSNOMA, is joining forces with the UPP cinema to hold a unique listening-room session featuring DJs Zahra Haji Fath Ali Tehrani, Lily London, and Martha, powered by Oxford-based FLOW soundsystem.

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Tomorrow (Friday 9th October)

14:00

De Gaulle: Liberté 15
2h 39m | French w/ English subtitles
June 1940: France has fallen and signed an armistice with Germany. With no army, no backing and little hope, General de Gaulle gambles everything to convince the world France's fight isn't over. Part two of Antonin Baudry's historical epic.

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17:30

Sense and Sensibility U
2h 12m
Mrs Dashwood and her daughters lose their Sussex home to her stepson and move to a Devon cottage, finding love and heartbreak. Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean) directs Jane Austen's story, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Fiona Shaw and George MacKay.

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20:30

Babystar 12A
1h 38m | German w/ English subtitles
Luca has been an influencer since birth, and her parents live off her income. As they consider having another child, performing for strangers starts to break her. Maja Bons gives a breakout performance in Joscha Bongard's unsettling debut.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!