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Death in Venice: a magnificent, startlingly original staging of Britten’s enigmatic opera

• Nearly half a century after his death, the composer Benjamin Britten holds a continuing fascination for writers and audiences alike. There are currently two quasi-biographical plays running: Ben and Imo (at the Swan in Stratford), based on his tense relationship with his assistant, the composer Imogen Holst; and Turning the Screw (which finishes this weekend at the King’s Head, Islington) on his dangerous encounter with the young David Hemmings, who as a boy sang in the premiere of The Turn of t