SPACE - BODY - FACE

What makes an excellent theatre poster? Is it a punchline, emotion, atmosphere, expression relevant for the production, visual quality, or important information?

Space has always been a big issue in theatre. The restricted space of the stage has become the source of infinite staging solutions. Space has also fascinated creators of theatre posters because it entices them to transfer the 3D space of the theatre onto the 2D space of the poster.

The cold, metaphysical space of the poster for the puppet production about a little mermaid from early 1990s expresses the dense atmosphere of the play in a single image. The stylized protagonist shown in slanted planes that define a vast space initially almost completely escapes our sight.

The tragic fate of the well-known dramatic heroine is implied using a red-coloured sky and the initials of her name. The outer area behind the barriers is only hinted at – a typical feature of many stage designs.

One of the functions of the theatre poster is to attract attention of potential spectators. Nudity on stage and on theatre posters can be an important tool to portray dramatic characters and situations, as well as to catch attention.

A popular motif of poster artists has been the combination of dramatic characters and theatrical artefacts. A striking artefact can dramatize a static picture and imply a growing conflict and future tragedy in the presented dramatic work.

In a poster picture, fragments of the human body can be used as whole bodies. They allude to the physical character of the theatre and allow spectators to identify with actors. Body fragments always captivate potential audiences because the human brain tries to complete the parts that are incomplete in order to comprehend the visual stimuli.

A dynamic scene in which a horse’s mouth is licking a woman’s foot is cleverly using erotic symbols to hint at the play’s genre – a variation of vaudeville.

The facial expression of Franz Kafka, the author of the play, abstracted from an authentic photograph using the silkscreen technique, corresponds with the character and theme of the play. The poster thus communicates several messages at once – it captures the attention of those who like Kafka and the heavy atmosphere of his works.

Does the face of a fictitious heroine in a retro-allusion to Russian constructivism express both hope and fear?

An ambiguous female face behind a misty glass and the colourfulness typical for states of despondency and depression – that is how the author of the poster read the atmosphere of Strindberg’s A Dream Play, a title from his later period.

The blending of two faces, one male and one female, is as worrisome as the fragments of their figures. The mind of a potential spectator tries to find out which face is more expressive – that is how the poster keeps the viewer’s attention.

The eye, “a window to the soul” is perhaps the most outstanding feature of the face. The multiplied eyes in the poster for Gogol’s classic Dead Souls suffice to imply the “crushed” souls.

The eye, as the most important organ of any visual artist, is assigned a surprising place. Theatre posters, as well as staging of dramatic works in general, often rely on paradoxes, surprises, or unexpected punchlines.

Metaphorically speaking, playwrights conduct an anatomical dissection of their dramatic characters. The author of the poster uses an anatomical light probe to allude to the professions of the protagonists – a soprano singer and a surgeon.

A woman’s head, or rather the head of a spectre from the past, or an alien. At any rate, the face feels strange, foreign, non-human. The author of this piercing and distinctly visual poster composed it with mathematical accuracy, cleverly balancing on the edge of symmetry and asymmetry.

A worrying combination of facial features, a winged English clock, the space behind an apartment door, and leaping typography. An observant theatre spectator can easily put these fragments together to assemble a work of theatre of the absurd.

The famous nose belongs to a famous actor. The author of the poster combined a typical Cyrano-esque motif with the portrait of comedian Milan Lasica – an actor who is very well-known in Slovakia.

The double portrait of actresses alternating in the main role of the Slovak National Theatre’s production does much more than just meeting the marketing requirement to show star performers who are known to theatre audience. The tension between the image of Anna Karenina and her reflection in the mirror – another, real woman – alludes to the drama itself.