Paul Hargreaves

Androcles and the Lion

Billy Connolly, Anna Calder-Marshall

Shaw used the traditional fable of Andocles to focus on the integrity of religious belief. Androcles, a christian fleeing persecution in Rome, is captured by Caesar's men. Alongside other christians - Ferrovius, a fierce fighter, Lavinia, a beautiful aristocrat and would-be martyr Spintho - he must face the lions of the Coliseum. How will each of them face their desperate fate?