[3] She used the historical background to comment on present day issues.
[5] "Tells of the great slave revolt against the tyranny of Rome in 73 B.C.
It was a movement that began with the escape of a few slave-gladiators from arenas where they were forced to hack each other with swords for the benefit of a blood-lusting Roman crowd.
Eventually more than 70,000 armed slaves were challenging the might of Rome.
But all through her play, Miss Cusack is keenly, almost poignantly, aware of parallels with our own momentous time.