Ben and Imo are composer Benjamin Britten and his musical assistant, Imogen Holst. But those cosy pet names tell us where we stand – or at least, where we think we do. The illusion of being inside an artistic clique is at the heart of Mark Ravenhill’s new two-hander, which began life as a BBC radio drama and which he has now opened out into a two-act play about the pair. Alan Bennett did a Britten play a few years back but Ravenhill is sharper, and as directed by Erica Whyman, Ben and Imo just about supports its own length.
His Benjamin Britten is bravura – neck stretching forward, then springing back, like a tortoise
Which is more than can be said for its subject, Britten’s 1953 coronation opera Gloriana. Ben (Samuel Barnett) is on deadline, stalling desperately over the big national commission that he’s claimed as of right, but which is turning out to be an albatross.
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