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THE BILLY BUDD PRODUCTION
 Billy’s story is set against the magnificent backdrop of the Royal Navy at the height of its powers. Billy was a young sailor, a foretop-man in the Merchant Navy. Press-ganged into service during the height of the Napoleonic threat, his story is the archetypal struggle between good and evil. Condemned to death on a technicality, he becomes a model of courage in the face of adversity and proves that there are times when the rule of law cannot always distinguish right from good. When you read Billy Budd, you see how resoundingly the author of the book, Herman Melville makes his final statement. The story itself is so simple you can sum it up in a sentence: A handsome innocent sailor, who is framed for a mutiny he knew nothing about, impulsively kills the man who framed him because a speech impediment keeps him from defending himself, and the ship’s captain decides the sailor must hang. Written during Melville's retirement, between 1885 and 1891, Billy Budd was never completely finished. The manuscript was discovered among Melville's papers during the "Melville Revival" of the 1920s; it contains many unclear indicated revisions and corrections regarding which the author's final intentions are uncertain. The musical is in two acts with a male cast.
The musical has been written by Paul Knight and Clive Hayward and is based on the famous maritime tale of the same name by Herman Melville. It was premiered to May 2005 at Intermission at St. Saviour’s in Knightsbridge. This is an intimate and sometimes dark story of human relationships straining against the confines of their wooden world.
The timing for this production could not be more timely or more relevant as we commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, and interest in our seafaring heritage and history has never been greater, the National Maritime Museum currently has more exhibitions and is experiencing more interest and visitors than ever before.
This trend is reflected in the prime time television productions, The Ends of the Earth and Hornblower, both of which are receiving record audiences, as well as the coverage of the epic journey of Helen Mc Arthur. Listen to samples track taken from The Billy Budd Production
1. Claggart’s song
2. Elegy - Recorded by Dominic Colchester’s
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