The play "drew a direct parallel between the Roman invasion of Celtic Britain in 54 BC and the contemporary British presence in Northern Ireland".

The 1980 production became the focus of a private prosecution in 1982 by Christian morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse against the play's director Michael Bogdanov relating to the on-stage depiction of male-on-male rape.

After three days,[1] the action was withdrawn after the prosecution counsel told Whitehouse that he was unable to continue with the case;[6] the litigation was ended by the Attorney General putting forward a plea of nolle prosequi.

(1982) Whitehouse wrote that she was of the opinion that the legal point that the Sexual Offences Act could be applied to events on stage had been established and they had no wish to criminalise Bogdanov.

This was stated at the time to be due to a “viral infection” but was later documented in the Makin Review to have been part of his agreement with the Iwerne Trust after they became aware of his child abuse.