Theatre Review: Ben and Imo

Ben and Imo tells the story of how, nine months before the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the two great musical minds of the twentieth century come together to write an opera for the occasion. Imogen Holst (Victoria Yeates), brilliant, passionate, and steadfast, is the exact opposite of the mercurial Benjamin Britten (Samuel Barnett). He is the unreliable genius who cannot make up his mind about the fate of the opera, Gloriana, its purpose, and the time he has left to write it.

The set is perfect. The sound of the sea accompanies the sparse chords chosen by music composer Conor Mitchell. In the centre of the stage sits a revolving piano, and much of the path is filled with pebbles that lead to the ocean. Ben and Imo are at the centre of this dynamic set and its turbulent action. Blue and purple lighting illuminates their creative spaces and casts stunning silhouettes at the back of the theatre.

Ben and Imo are at the centre of this dynamic set and its turbulent action

Directed by Erica Whyman, following the blazingly successful Hamnet in 2023, it is clear that new life has been breathed into Mark Ravenhill’s 2013 play. Under her direction, stories bloom and audiences are moved. This is no exception and is set to be a triumph.

The first half of the play sets out the differences between Ben and Imo. Most of the content of the play is true: Ben, genius but often depressed and unreliable, is stubborn and unyielding. He is conflicted about the task of writing Gloriana. Imo is the uncompromising force who travels most of her life, fits everything into just three bags, and wants never to marry or settle. They balance each other – they are different types of creatives, but it is their creativity which draws them together. The pull of a vocation like this is clear in a theatre, and perhaps is what makes it precisely so rewarding for the audience.

The pacing is flawless and the story magically told

The pacing is flawless and the story magically told. Their unusual, ever-changing relationship is shot through with a love of music and a genuine affection for each other that slowly develops in a genuinely touching manner on stage. Barnett’s Ben is wonderfully done: with him the acting is all in the micro-expressions – the worried crease in his brow, the wringing of his hands, the changing lilt of his posture. Yeates’ Imo is triumphant in her graceful movements, exuberance, and the kindness, creativity and passion which radiate through the theatre. Hers is a truly wonderful performance and shines a light on the woman without whom Gloriana could not have been written, but who is so often a footnote – or worse, omitted entirely from the story.

At its core, this play is less about the two individuals and really about the process of composing. Whether or not you know Britten or Holst’s work, it does not matter: this play is for anyone who has ever loved music. Art and song fills the stage. Both Yeates and Barnett sit down to play the piano, and in a particularly lovely scene, we see Imogen demonstrate the Elizabethan dances she has learned for Ben. Her dancing is wonderful, and the pause in dialogue really allows for a moment to appreciate the joy of their shared creativity.

A quietly beautiful piece and not one to miss

Ben and Imo undertakes the task of examining the process of composition and the pull between art for duty and art for art’s sake. Ben asks how we can separate the artistic from the dutiful. What does it mean to compose for a monarch, or to compose for your own joy and desire to compose?

It is a quietly beautiful piece and not one to miss.