The
History of the Theatre Poster
Page 1
| 2 | 3
| 4 | 5
| 6 | 7
Posters are no longer a novelty but they are still an important
part of theatre advertising in the 21st century. Poster designers
are increasingly aware of the importance of finding the right
image to entice people to the theatre. Several long-running productions
have regular cast changes bringing film or television stars to
the west end, and photographs of them feature on the posters.
Several different posters are often produced for one production – one
to advertise an opening; another to include press comments, and
others to advertise cast changes, or to advertise the end of the
run.
Posters may no longer be the major form of theatre advertising,
but they are still an essential part of any marketing strategy
for a production - and their design is probably harder to get
right now than it was over four hundred years ago, when the earliest
posters hit the posts.
2194 This is Our Youth
2192 Jerry Springer
The Lion King
|
|
|
 |
This poster was created for the original production of The Lion King on Broadway in 1997, and has since been used to advertise the production wherever it has opened. It is a simple but very strong graphic image of a majestic lion - either Mufasa, the king at the opening of the musical, or his son Simba, who grows during the course of the action and succeeds to the throne on his father’s death. The image concentrates on his face and mane, produced by simple black strokes, set against colours suggesting the hot sun on the African plains, or a glowing sunset. The image of the lion was used in other versions of the poster with leaping antelope, but this is the most simple and powerful version and now the icon of the production world-wide. This version is used in London on bus advertising, - the lion image on one poster, with a second poster to give the title and the name of the theatre. This object features in the
Drama
Guided Tour
|
|
|
|
 Save to my folder
|
|
