The Playbook

<p><b>‘Tremendous.’ </b>DAVID HARE<br><b>‘An absorbing, necessary book.’ </b>AHAD AKHTAR<br><b>‘Fascinating and energising.’</b> <i>FINANCIAL TIMES</i><br><b><br>From the 'Winner of Winners' of the Baillie Gifford Prize, a timely and dramatic story of a utopian American experiment, and the self-serving politicians that engineered its downfall.</b><br><br>In 1935 the American public was presented with a radical opportunity. <br><br>Established under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Federal Theatre Project would employ 12,000 artists, writers, and actors; stage more than 1,000 productions; and reach over 30 million people. Its output included Orson Welles’ directorial debut, a landmark modern dance programme, and shows that sought to shed light on the reality of racism, inequality and the dangers of fascism.<br><br>But within three years, an opportunistic Texas congressman had embarked on a campaign to destroy it, inventing a playbook that echoes into the culture wars of today.<br><br>From one of the world’s great storytellers, <i>The Playbook </i>is an illuminating account of a terrifyingly prescient moment in twentieth-century American cultural history.</p>