Multiple television adaptations of George Bernard Shaw’s satirical play about faith, cruelty, and the nature of power in ancient Rome.
George Bernard Shaw’s play is a satirical fable set in the Roman Empire. The story follows Androcles, a gentle Christian tailor, who flees persecution with his shrewish wife, Megaera. In the wilderness, he encounters a lion in agony from a large thorn embedded in its paw. Taking pity on the beast, Androcles removes the thorn, earning its undying gratitude. Later, captured by Roman soldiers, Androcles and a group of fellow Christians, including the noble Lavinia and the mighty Ferrovius, are condemned to die in the Colosseum. When Androcles is thrown to the lions, his would-be executioner turns out to be the very animal he saved, and the two waltz out of the arena together, baffling the Emperor.
George Bernard Shaw’s parable of faith and hypocrisy has been a recurring presence on BBC television, with each new version reflecting the medium’s own evolution. The earliest adaptations were live broadcasts from Alexandra Palace, with producer Desmond Davis mounting two separate productions in 1938 and 1946. These were ephemeral theatrical events, transmitted with the technical limitations of the era. A third version followed in 1951, of which little record survives.
By 1960, the play was re-imagined as a two-part serial for schools, an early example of television’s role in education. The final and most notable adaptation was another schools production in 1983, which cast comedian Billy Connolly in the title role. This version, with a cast including Anna Calder-Marshall and Bernard Bresslaw, used Connolly’s populist appeal to make Shaw’s intellectual comedy accessible to a new generation of viewers.
1938 Production
Broadcast: BBC, 2 Episodes, 4 July 1938 – 13 July 1938
Written by: George Bernard Shaw
Director: Desmond Davis
Main Cast: Esmé Percy (Androcles), Guy Glover (Lion), Molly Hamley Clifford (Megaera), Basil Cunard (Centurion), William Hutchison (Captain), Iris Baker (Lavinia), Malcolm Keen (Ferrovius), Michael Martin Harvey (Caesar).
1946 Production
Broadcast: BBC, 2 Episodes, 3 November 1946 – 5 November 1946
Written by: George Bernard Shaw
Director: Desmond Davis
Main Cast: Andrew Leigh (Androcles), Victor Woolf (The Lion), Elaine Inescort (Megaera), Basil Cunard (Centurion), Richard Hurndall (Captain), Pauline Letts (Lavinia), Torin Thatcher (Ferrovius), Ernest Thesiger (Caesar).
1951 Production
Broadcast: BBC, 28 August 1951
Written by: George Bernard Shaw
(No further production details are available).
1960 Production
Broadcast: BBC Schools, 2 Episodes, 8 March 1960 – 15 March 1960
Written by: Bernard Shaw
Music by: George Hall
Producer: Ronald Eyre
Main Cast: Roderick Cook (Androcles), Clinton Greyn (Ferrovius), Terry Scully (Spintho), Ruth Meyers (Lavinia), Donald Pickering (Metellus), Bob Stevenson (The Lion), Gordon Gostelow (Menagerie Keeper), Julian Glover (The Captain).
1983 Production
Broadcast: BBC Two, 2 Episodes, 23 September 1983 – 30 September 1983
Written by: Bernard Shaw
Music by: Jonathan Cohen
Producer: Ronald Smedley
Main Cast: Billy Connolly (Androcles), Anna Calder-Marshall (Lavinia), Bernard Bresslaw (Ferrovius), Jane Freeman (Magaera), Peter Copley (Caesar), Rupert Frazer (Captain), John Tordoff (Spintho), Roy Jones (The Lion).
