The Playbook cover art

The Playbook

A Story of Theatre, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War

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The Playbook

By: James Shapiro
Narrated by: Gabra Zackman
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About this listen

1935. As part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's progressive New Deal, the Work Progress Administration is created to support unemployed workers, including writers, artists, musicians and actors. The Federal Theatre Project, a major part of that programme, begins to stage critically acclaimed, subsidised and groundbreaking productions across America, including Orson Welles's directorial debut, a landmark modern dance programme and shows that sought to tell the truth about racism, inequality and the dangers of fascism.

1938. An opportunistic Texas congressman, Martin Dies, head of the newly formed House Un-American Activities Committee, successfully targets the Federal Theatre, exploiting rising tensions over communism and creating a new political playbook based on sensationalism, misinformation and fear—a playbook that has proved instrumental in our current culture wars.

From one of the world's great storytellers, The Playbook is an invigorating re-enactment of a terrifyingly prescient moment in twentieth-century American cultural history.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 James Shapiro (P)2024 Faber & Faber Americas Literary History & Criticism United States Celebrity Socialism Franklin D Roosevelt

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Most relevant  
Such a relevant and resonant story - urgently and succinctly told. A fascinating but ultimately dispiriting example of the cyclical nature of history and Right Wing America’s pathological hatred of socially-engaged art. Essential reading for all those who see the MAGA movement as a unique or even temporary phenomenon. To paraphrase Sinclair Lewis “It has happened there. It can happen here.” Despite the ultimately frustrating end of the FTP, in Hallie Flanagan today’s theatre practitioners have a hero they can still celebrate, emulate and memorialise.

It Can Happen Here

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