James Shapiro

1935, Franklin D Roosevelt is under pressure to combat the skyrocketing levels of unemployment inpost-war America.

He announces a sweeping range of revolutionary initiatives, known collectively asthe New Deal. Among these initiatives is a landmark programme designed to bring innovative,experimental theatre to the American masses. The Federal Theatre Project staged critically acclaimed and wildly popular productions acrossAmerica - including Orson Welles' directorial debut, a landmark early modern dance programme, and shows that sought to tell the truth about racism, poverty and the rising tides of fascism. 1938. An opportunistic Texas congressman, head of the newly formed House Un-AmericanCommittee, targets the Federal Theatre Project, enflaming rising tension about communism andcreating a new political playbook based on sensationalism, misinformation and fear - a playbook that has proved instrumental in today's Culture Wars. From one of the world's great storytellers, Playbook is an invigorating re-enactment of a terrifyinglyprescient moment in 20th-century American cultural history, the dimensions of which echo throughevery democracy today.