The Red House

Consultation  |  Planning

The Red House is located in Aldeburgh, on the Suffolk coast. The composer Benjamin Britten lived here with his partner, the tenor Peter Pears. The site consists of a listed 19th century farmhouse with gardens, Britten’s studio, their library and a modern exhibition area and archives. I worked with Bright to redevelop the visitor experience to celebrate the 2013 centenary of Britten’s birth. One of the primary goals was to broaden the audience for Britten’s music, with special focus on non-music lovers, families and schoolchildren. We conducted workshops during which we listened to music with target audiences. We then selected favourite Britten compositions to focus on in the new exhibitions and used these to illustrate key interpretive themes. My interpretation plan also worked these themes into the house tour and self-guided visits in the garden and studio.​