Erica Whyman talks to What’s On about directing Ben And Imo, Mark Ravenhill’s new play about the often tumultuous creative relationship between composer Benjamin Britten and Imogen Holst, the daughter of Gustav, whilst writing the opera Gloriana for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II...

What is the story of Ben and Imo, Erica?
In the autumn of 1952, Imogen Holst came to work alongside Benjamin Britten as he wrote his third opera, Gloriana, for a gala performance to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. They worked closely and at breakneck speed, and Mark’s play tells the story of an intimate friendship between a gay man - brilliant, troubled, sometimes ferociously cruel - and an equally brilliant woman, who loves music above all else and finds herself enchanted by and embroiled in Britten’s struggle to make a work of art fit for a queen.

Many people will have heard of Benjamin Britten, but they might not have heard of Imogen Holst. Can you tell us a bit about her?
She was quite wonderful, and I wish I had had the chance to meet her! The daughter of [composer] Gustav Holst, famous for The Planets [a work of classical music], she was determined to make her own way in the world. A composer herself, she also conducted and arranged music, and all of her life she taught music, often to amateurs and children. In the Second World War she toured the South West, working for the very beginnings of the Arts Council, with a suitcase on the back of her bicycle, bringing music and dance, forming choirs, unearthing folk traditions in every tiny village. After Gloriana she continued to work with Britten and became deeply involved in the Aldeburgh Festival, making it her home until she died in 1984.  She was a restless spirit, warm, exacting and passionate. She brought so much joy - through music - to thousands of people.

And why do you think we haven’t heard of her?
I suspect being a woman had something to do with it! Her compositions are not perhaps as groundbreaking as her father’s or Britten’s, although interest in them continues to grow and they are very beautiful. Her contribution to our understanding of English folk and other early music is immense, as is her influence on the programming in Aldeburgh over two decades, and she changed fundamentally how we think about teaching music in schools; I think we still have a tendency now only to remember the lead artist, the singular star, and not to value fully the key collaborators without whom their work would not have been possible.

A version of the play was originally broadcast on BBC Radio Three in 2013, but this is the first time a stage production has been mounted. How did you come across the play?
Mark sent me a draft of the new script - for theatre - in early 2021. He had picked it up in the early months of the pandemic and begun to revisit it, as he liked the characters so much - and their time-sensitive task of making an opera was a little like a lockdown! It appealed to me immediately because it asks big questions about why art matters, and in those dark days when the theatres were shut, I found it a real tonic. Their clarity about the role of artists in turbulent times is very bracing.

Have you worked with Mark before?
I’ve known him for more than a decade, but this is the first time I have directed his writing. He was writer-in-residence at the RSC when I started and helped me commission work for the new Other Place that we opened in 2016. He is a delight to collaborate with - he really understands the roles of actor and director, so he is helpful without getting in anyone’s way. He has such a clear grip on how theatre comes alive in a space.

The play is a two-hander, with Samuel Barnett and Victoria Yeates taking the titular roles. What do you think these actors will bring to the parts of Ben and Imo?
Samuel is perfect for Ben; he is funny and razor-sharp and unafraid to go to the dark places Ben frequently lives in when he is composing. Victoria brings a delicious vibrancy to Imo and is going to bring to vivid life her wit, her steely resolve and her courage in speaking the truth.

You’ve said the play is about “love, music  and, importantly, power”. Can you elaborate?
It is a very fresh take on the ‘gay best friend’, as it is about the love between two people who are not going to have a sexual relationship but find themselves entangled because of a shared endeavour - the music - which forces them to really share the depths of themselves. Ben has enormous power over Imo, because he is a man, an increasingly famous composer, and he is employing her.  And sometimes he abuses that power, and sometimes she is more powerful than him because she is not afraid of some painful truths.

The play portrays Britten as often a very cruel but highly talented man. Do you think bad behaviour is ever justifiable in the pursuit of artistic excellence?
Justifiable, no, but is it something we can and should try to understand? I think so. Too many artists have been given a free pass to be abusive, to exploit their status at the expense of other people’s confidence and safety. So no, I don’t think that is ever acceptable, but I do think we must try to discover why someone behaves like that, what is it that is torturing them - very often they are ashamed or afraid or both -  and we can feel compassion for that and do what is needed to help them change their behaviour.

Your acclaimed and award-nominated production of Hamnet enjoyed a successful run in Stratford, and is currently playing in London. What’s next for you after Ben And Imo?
I’m starting a really interesting piece of work in Oxford looking at how communities can use stories to influence research, and I’m working with some colleagues in France on how to make Shakespeare more relevant there!

Ben And Imo shows at The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from Wednesday 21 February to Saturday 6 April.