Androcles and the Lion (1912 Shaw), play
Androcles and the Lion (1912) is a play by George Bernard Shaw.
Abstract
Story of Androcles, a Christian slave in ancient Rome, who befriends a lion.
George Bernard Shaw (like Feuillade before him) turned the ancient tale into a "Christian" tale,
Shaw added to the play a long introduction, in which he expressed his view of Jesus, a benevolent genius whose teachings were somehow forgotten by his movement, as they rather followed the new teachings of Paul of Tarsus.
The play was first performed in 1912 in German translation in Berlin, and then the following year in London and in 1915 in New York.
Characters
- Androcles (main character)
- The Lion
- Antoninus Pius
Editions
Published in London, England: Constable, 1913.
Translations
Performance History
- Androklus und der Löwe = Androcles and the Lion, German ed. (1912 / @1912 Shaw), Berlin production, world premiere (play) 25 November 1912 Berlin Trebitsch tr.
- Androcles and the Lion (1913 Granville-Barker / @1912 Shaw), London production (play) Harley Granville-Barker and Lillah McCarthy -- St. James's Theatre -- 1 September 1913
- Androcles and the Lion (1915 Barker / @1912 Shaw), New York (Broadway) production (play) 22 January 1915