USA is an epic saga following a group of characters through the opening decades of the 20th century, in a grand sweep that takes us from post-war boom to Great Depression bust.

It has modernist flair, a sharp social eye, and a profound humanity. We follow key individuals, drawn from all walks of life, as their paths cross to creating a complex and moving tapestry of American society.

One by one, we are introduced to the players, and we learn about each in depth from infancy to maturity. We see them growing up, negotiating adolescence, looking for love and finding their place in the world, meeting each other as fortune dictates, and following their destiny to success or failure.

Dramatised by Robin Brooks from John Dos Passos's USA trilogy: The 42nd Parallel, 1919 and The Big Money

Episode One : John Ward Moorehouse, Eleanor Stoddard, and Janey Williams.
In the opening episode, we meet the first players in our saga, as fate draws the threads of their lives together - John Moorehouse, a young man on the make, Eleanor Stoddard, a young woman with artistic ambitions, and Janey Williams, a girl growing up on the wrong side of the tracks.

Cast:
John Ward Moorehouse ..... Tom Bateman
Eleanor Stoddard ..... Tanya Reynolds
Eveline Hutchins ..... Hannah Genesius
Janey Williams ..... Sheila Atim
Annabelle Strang ..... Jessica Phillippi
Rochevillain /Oliver Taylor ..... Jacob Fortune-Lloyd
Freddy Sergeant / Alec ..... Calam Lynch
Joe Williams ..... Adam Courting
Gertrude Staple ..... Laurel Lefkow
McGill ..... Eric Meyers
Jerry Burnham/ Oppenheimer ..... Will Howard

Producer / Director - Fiona McAlpine
Sound Design - Lucinda Mason Brown

Production Manager - Lucy Barter
Broadcast Assistant - Georgia Brown

An Allegra production for BBC Radio 4 Show less