Ralph Fiennes stars in The Choral, the wartime drama from director Nicholas Hytner and playwright/screenwriter Alan Bennett. The film tells the story of a town’s choral society trying to find its voice amid the crushing realities of World War I.
Also starring in the film are Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, and Simon Russell Beale
The Choral world premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival in the Gala Presentations section, and has gone on to screen at London Film Festival.
It opens in select US theaters on December 25, 2025, then in Bay area theaters on January 16, 2026 , courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Set in 1916 in Ramsden, Yorkshire, The Choral follows the town’s local choral society whose male membership has been decimated by World War I. Desperate to keep the tradition alive, the committee hires the enigmatic Dr. Henry Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes) as chorus master despite local suspicion about his background and unconventional methods. Together with a motley group of recruits — including younger boys and girls — the choir undertakes the ambitious task of performing Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, finding in music a powerful antidote to grief, fear, and social discord. As conscription papers arrive and the realities of war close in, the community discovers that harmony may be the most profound response to chaos.
The Choral is the fourth of Nicholas Hytner’s film collaborations with Alan Bennett, after The Madness of King George (1994), The History Boys (2006) and The Lady in the Van (2015). His other films include The Crucible (1996) and The Object of My Affection (1998).
Watch the official trailer for The Choral above.
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