Not on display

London Ballet poster

Poster
1940 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

Advertising nightly performances by The London Ballet at the Arts Theatre Club, this poster is an example of a show being promoted through the use of positive reviews from newspaper articles. Produced in 1940, when resources in Britain were very stretched due to the Second World War; for this reason the posters for productions would have been very austere.

The Arts Theatre Club was opened in 1927 for the production of plays unlicensed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office, censors of the British stage until 1968. By invoking a fee for membership to the club, the theatre could perform controversial works without fear of being prosecuted.

Object details

Categories
Advertising
Entertainment & Leisure
Posters
Dance
Object type
Poster
TitleLondon Ballet poster (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Letterpress on paper
Paper
Ink
Letterpress Printing
Brief description
Poster advertising The London Ballet at Arts Theatre Club, London, 1940
Physical description
Yellow poster with black typography advertising the London Ballet at the Arts Theatre Club, with reviews from several newspapers.
Dimensions
  • Height: 76cm
  • Width: 50.5cm
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • ARTS THEATRE / CLUB / By LEICESTER SQUARE TUBE
  • THE LONDON BALLET: / "PRETTY IN THE EXTREME" Times / "VERY CHARMING" Observer / "REAL QUALITY" Sunday Times / "VERY ATTRACTIVE" Daily Mail / "ORIGINAL" News-Chronicle
  • 8.30 (EX. MON.) / WED. and SAT. at 2.30
  • NEW PROGRAMME WEEKLY
Gallery label
War-time posters

During the Second World War, Britain’s resources were all directed towards the war effort. As a result, posters were very plain.

The ENSA poster is extremely basic with a space for the time and date to be written in, therefore saving valuable ink and paper. ENSA – the Entertainments National Service Association – provided entertainment for the armed forces. The absence of a venue on the poster is deliberate: to prevent information falling into the hands of the enemy.

ENSA poster for the Russian Ballets
About 1940s
Ballet by Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Lev Ivanov, 1892
Letterpress
Museum no. S.4786-1995

The London Ballet
1940
Arts Theatre Club, London
Letterpress
Museum no. S.502-1995
Summary
Advertising nightly performances by The London Ballet at the Arts Theatre Club, this poster is an example of a show being promoted through the use of positive reviews from newspaper articles. Produced in 1940, when resources in Britain were very stretched due to the Second World War; for this reason the posters for productions would have been very austere.

The Arts Theatre Club was opened in 1927 for the production of plays unlicensed by the Lord Chamberlain's Office, censors of the British stage until 1968. By invoking a fee for membership to the club, the theatre could perform controversial works without fear of being prosecuted.
Collection
Theatre and Performance Collection
Accession number
S.502-1995

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Record createdApril 24, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O153472/london-ballet-poster-poster-unknown/
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