“'Prison is a shortage of space compensated by a surplus of time' is one of numerous references to time and space in this literary expression of Einstein's relativity theory by Nobel Prize-winner Brodsky. A play in classic form, it consists of a dialogue between Publius and Tullius, two Romans incarcerated in a one-mile high steel tower, and takes place at once in ancient Rome and a future supermechanized society. The discourse also concerns timelessness (marble, literature) versus transience (technology, ideology) and reality versus illusion, interspersed with arguments about mundane things. The only dramatic event, Tullius's escape and return, is downplayed. Thus, the play demands much of its audience, especially since allusions to classical literature, history, science, and philosophy abound in the very compact text.” —Library Journal