John Hassall, the designer of this poster, was one of the most influential British poster artists of the early twentieth century. His style, incorporating flat areas of colour enclosed by thick black lines, was influenced by the example of the Japanese woodcut, by the poster artist Alphonse Mucha and the Art Nouveau style. His career started in 1890, when he became a regular contributor to The Graphic magazine. He began designing theatre posters when he joined the advertising company David Allen & Sons, in 1895, with whom he worked for over 50 years.

A Greek Slave, a musical comedy with libretto by Owen Hall and score by Sidney Jones, was first performed at Daly's Theatre, Leicester Square in 1898. Its plot followed the tangled love lives and misunderstandings of a Roman household, and ran for 349 performances. It followed Jones's hit show The Geisha, which had run for over 700 performances at the same theatre.