The History of
the Theatre Poster
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Introduction
During the Middle Ages, performances by strolling players or guilds
were announced by processions of the performers themselves, sometimes
accompanied by vexillators - people carrying banners. Town-criers also
announced performances, with actors beating drums or playing other instruments.
For those who could read, brief hand-written details of performances
were handed out and stuck to posts in towns, giving rise to the word
'poster', but the quickest way of attracting a crowd was by word of mouth,
and the sound of the drum and trumpet.
The first public theatre in England opened in London in 1576. Performances
at the first theatres were announced by the distribution of handbills,
a drum procession through the streets, and by a flag hoisted at the theatre
where the performance was taking place. Just before the start of a play,
three trumpet calls were given at the theatre.
The earliest posters or playbills measured about 17.5 x 7.5 cms (7" x
3"). We know that some were printed by 1587, when a printer was
granted a licence for 'the only ympryntinge of
all manner of bills for players'. In Ben Jonson’s play Bartholomew
Fair,
1614, two characters enter with playbills announcing
a puppet play.
Read on to find out more about the history of the theatre poster
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