The Development of Theatre Posters

Cultural activities, specially theatre has been part of human beings from very early era for entertainment and to spread social messages. With evolution of mediums and technology various type of advertising is used to promote these events. But Posters have always been and still remain one of the most important and age-old mediums of promotion. Posters have existed even before the word advertising came up. In an era when there were limited modes of communication, an outdoor medium such as playbills and posters was the only way to convey any message to maximum number of people at once. In this research the evolution of theatre as well as theatre poster is being discussed. It is also analysed and evaluated how advertising evolved from word of mouth to handbills to proper posters design to promote plays. The present state of posters and how the emergence of new technologies affected the promotion of a play is also evaluated.