He's a towering figure in 20th century music, famous for works such as Peter Grimes, the War Requiem, and The Young Person's Guide to The Orchestra.
But a new play at the Kings Head Theatre examines Benjamin Britten's relationships with key figures, including Imogen Holst, the daughter of fellow composer Gustav Holst, his lover, the tenor Peter Pears, and choirboy David Hemmings who first sang the role of Miles in his opera The Turn of The Screw.
Set in the early '50s, when the government was cracking down on "high profile homosexuals" Kevin Kelly's Turning The Screw looks at the power imbalance in the arts, and at Britten grappling with his sexuality, and obsessive but innocent relationship with young boys.
The 85 minute work is directed by Highgate-based Tim McArthur, perhaps better known for his comic creations playing panto dames and fictional nun Sister Mary McArthur.
He says the show covers "the process of rehearsing and putting on an opera," the role of Holst, who put her own ambitions as a composer on hold to transcribe Britten's music, and the life of a gay couple "known to be together in the classical music world at a time when homosexuality was illegal."
"It's mini stories within a story. It's about love and a passion for music, it gives a great insight into who Benjamin Britten was, how he approaches a piece of work and how it disturbed him sometimes to get it right," he says.
Hemmings, who went on to appear in films such as Blowup, Barbarella and Gladiator, was a boy soprano taken under Britten's wing for private lessons.
"Hemmings was known for his special connection with Britten who had a certain obsession with boys. Nothing physical or sexual happened - they were young cherubs to him, but once their voices broke it destroyed this perception of the innocence of youth.
"The play asks interesting questions about the dynamic of his relationships, because Hemmings was 12, he was aware of this obsession and what he had to do to manipulate the situation."
Britten and Pears' relationship came under the spotlight in 1953 when the composer was visited by Police.
"In the rehearsal room Pears and Britten were very professional, but behind closed doors, you can read in their letters to each other, they were incredibly close."
McArthur says the production that has the approval of the Benjamin Britten Trust and includes extracts from his work played between scene changes.
Only the second show at the new King's Head Theatre in Islington, it was supported by a £25,000 grant from a trust founded by the actor Sir Ian McKellen.
"Putting on theatre is so hard and expensive and it meant we could pay the actors proper wages and put on a really classy production," says McArthur.
"It's exciting to be the second show at the Kings Head. It's a proper studio theatre unlike the old pub theatre, it means we can have a bigger set and we're not limited to what we can do."
Turning The Screw runs at The Kings Head theatre until March 10.
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