Theatre in Market Economies explores the complex relationship between theatre and the market economy since the 1990s. Bringing together research from the arts and social sciences, the book proposes that theatre has increasingly taken up the mission of the 'mixed economy' by seeking to combine economic efficiency with social security while promoting liberal democracy. McKinnie situates this analysis within a wider context, in which the welfare state's tools have been used to regulate, ever more closely, the lives of citizens rather than the operations of markets. In the process, the book invites us to think in new ways about longstanding economic and political problems in and through the theatre: the nature of industry, productivity, citizenship, security and economic confidence. Theatre in Market Economies depicts a theatre that is not only a familiar cultural institution but is, in unexpected and often ambiguous ways, an exemplary political-economic one as well.

‘… extraordinarily lucid and erudite … a most welcome, mature and sophisticated example of the engaged materialist analysis that has been a particular strength of his earlier work.’

Trish Reid Source: Theatre Research International

‘Billed too modestly as a contemporary study, the book in fact offers a concise but sweeping history of key ideas and landmarks in theatre and political economy since the 1850s: nineteenth-century industrialization, the waxing and waning postwar UK welfare state, Irish peace in the 1990s, North American border panics after 9/11, and austerity politics in the 2010s. In all of these frameworks, McKinnie sees and communicates clearly how the mechanics of theatre making make political and economic meaning as much as, if not more than, the theatrical performance.’

Derek Miller Source: Theatre Survey

‘His arguments are, to my knowledge, novel, and therefore illuminating, but the book’s greatest strength is the measured intricacy of its argument. Addressing himself to an audience of theatre scholars, McKinnie walks readers clearly and effectively through economic theory in order to build his analysis. That he achieves this in the efficiency of 157 pages of body text is especially laudable. Theatre in Market Economies proves a valuable contribution to any consideration of theatre’s place in contemporary society and its contributions to an evolving, market-driven world.’

Patrick Maley Source: Modern Drama

‘Theatre scholars seeking to integrate economic analyses with their investigations of contemporary arts institutions have something to celebrate: the arrival of Michael McKinnie’s Theatre in Market Economies. The book blasts through disciplinary boundaries to pursue the 'evolving' nature of theatre’s relationship with political economy.'

Hillary Miller Source: Contemporary Theatre Review

‘McKinnie’s study manages … to illustrate admirably the epistemological and pedagogical significance of theatre in the present moment.’

Konstantinos Blatanis Source: European Journal of American Studies

‘… a rigorous study whose interdisciplinary applications invite interlocutors from fields that don’t interact often enough with one another. And apart from being a text I admire personally, I’ve found it a fabulous resource in the classroom.’

Alex Ferrone Source: Theatre Journal