Billy Budd

About the show

On board HMS Indomitable during the French Revolutionary Wars, the cheerful sailor Billy Budd attracts the attention and hostility of Master-at-Arms John Claggart. Claggart arranges a false accusation of mutiny. When Billy is confronted with the charge, his stammer prevents him from answering and he strikes Claggart, killing him. A court-martial sentences Billy to hang. He refuses to support a mutiny in his defense, is executed, and blesses Captain Vere, who later recalls his own failure to save Billy.