In Billy Budd, Sailor a young seaman is press-ganged from a trading-ship to serve on a warship, in 1797, during the war between Revolutionary France and Great Britain, shortly after the British Navy's ?Great Mutiny' was brutally suppressed. Melville began by writing the ballad ?Billy in the Darbies' - and then worked and reworked the story until his death. Its closely-wrought themes of male companionship and frustrated desire reflect a lifelong obsession, partly resulting from his ship board experiences, but also deriving from his exceptionally deep and complex feelings for Nathaniel Hawthorne to whom he dedicated Moby Dick.| 31 Oct 12 to 2 Nov 12 | Tara Theatre Outer London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
| 20 Sep 12 | Byre Theatre St Andrews, Fife Performance Details => Venue archive |
