A very family-friendly Lion

It was partly as a riposte to Peter Pan that George Bernard Shaw wrote his short Christiansbeingthrown-tothelions comedy in 1912.

The Irish polymath claimed that children found JM Barrie's play tedious and so set about writing a stage fable about a Greek tailor and his unlikely friendship with a man-eating shaggy-maned mammal with a thorn in its paw, that he hoped would prove both entertaining and instructive for a younger audience.

It's easy to see why Phil Willmott was tempted to revive Shaw's 'religious pantomime' at The Scoop. The play's Roman setting is a perfect match for the riverside site's outdoor classical amphitheatre, while its relative brevity, at just over an hour, and the central role accorded to a large, but mostly friendly, lion make it family-friendly fare.

Nonetheless, the play's mixture of cartoonish fun and serious philosophising can be hard to digest.

In Willmott's production, the Christians are a happy-clappy bunch who burst into song and shout 'Praise be!' a lot, while the Romans camp it up - the Coliseum director (Nick Smithers) delivers a very non-Shavian 'Whatever!', sounding for all the world like Marco from Big Brother.

The action culminates in a nice fight scene, a witty puppet sequence and - what else? - a chorus or two of The Lion Sleeps Tonight.

Until Sep 5, The Scoop, More London Riverside SE1, Thu 6.30pm, Fri 9pm, Sat and Sun 3pm and 9pm, free. www.morelondon.com Tube: London Bridge/ Tower Hill