The RSC’s 2024 production of Ben and Imo tells the story of the creative relationship between composers Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst, the daughter of Gustav Holst. Set in 1953 in the run-up to Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, we see Britten writing a new opera, Gloriana, about the new Queen’s predecessor, Elizabeth I. While Britten is battling with the tight nine-month deadline, he meets Imogen Holst, a dynamic and passionate composer and musician who supports Britten – both on this project and in the years beyond.
Ben and Imo was originally written by playwright Mark Ravenhill for radio broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2013 to mark the centenary of Britten’s birth, but has since been reworked for its stage debut. It is a two-hander, starring Samuel Barnett as Britten and Victoria Yeates as Holst.
Imogen (12 April 1907-9 March 1984) was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and festival administrator. She is perhaps best remembered for her teaching work at Dartington Hall in the 1940s: she also served as joint artistic director of the Aldeburgh Festival, founded by Britten and his lifelong partner Peter Pears. As well as composing, Holst wrote biographies of several composers, and various books on her father’s life and works.
‘One artist has been celebrated and commemorated, one whose life and work have been largely forgotten,’ says Ravenhill. ‘During the pandemic, I returned to my research and rebuilt the Ben and Imo material from the ground up to make a new play for the theatre. I found these two complex and passionate characters – and their commitment to their art – to be a great solace during my lockdown isolation. Their story, I think, still poses urgent questions about how we make art today.’
Director Erica Whyman is also behind the RSC’s acclaimed production of Hamnet, which has recently been transferred to the West End.
Ben and Imo ran at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon between 21 February and 6 April.