Look Back in Anger
Poster
1957 (printed)
1957 (printed)
| Place of origin |
The design of this poster, which calls to mind Mondrian's grid-based paintings, was the house style of the Royal Court from the mid 1950s. George Devine imposed this house style after starting the English Stage Company in 1956, when he became artistic director of the theatre. Devine's plan was to create a writers' theatre, with a view to discovering new writers and producing serious contemporary works. Look Back in Anger, which he first staged in 1956, is often seen as the starting point of modern British drama.
Written by John Osborne, Look Back in Anger is the story of a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man (Jimmy Porter), his upper-middle-class, impassive wife (Alison), and her snooty best friend (Helena Charles). Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace.
The play was a success on the London stage, and spawned the term "angry young men" to describe Osborne and other writers of his generation who employed harshness and realism, in contrast to the majority of West End writing, seen as more escapist fare. It transferred to Broadway the following year, receiving three Tony award nominations.
While Look Back in Anger played on Broadway, the play was revived at the Royal Court with a new cast. This poster advertises the third cast who appeared in a four week run in late 1957.
Written by John Osborne, Look Back in Anger is the story of a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man (Jimmy Porter), his upper-middle-class, impassive wife (Alison), and her snooty best friend (Helena Charles). Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace.
The play was a success on the London stage, and spawned the term "angry young men" to describe Osborne and other writers of his generation who employed harshness and realism, in contrast to the majority of West End writing, seen as more escapist fare. It transferred to Broadway the following year, receiving three Tony award nominations.
While Look Back in Anger played on Broadway, the play was revived at the Royal Court with a new cast. This poster advertises the third cast who appeared in a four week run in late 1957.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Look Back in Anger (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Printing ink on paper |
| Brief description | Poster advertising Look Back in Anger at the Royal Court Theatre, London, 28 October 1957 |
| Physical description | Typographic poster, with, at top, the name of the theatre written in black and white over an orange background. The rest of the poster is printed in black lettering on a white background, with the information in different sized squares and rectangles created by a pattern of black lines. In a central square is the title 'LOOK BACK IN ANGER' with further information above and below. To right of the central square is a yellow rectangle and to lower left, a black square. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Gabrielle Enthoven Collection |
| Summary | The design of this poster, which calls to mind Mondrian's grid-based paintings, was the house style of the Royal Court from the mid 1950s. George Devine imposed this house style after starting the English Stage Company in 1956, when he became artistic director of the theatre. Devine's plan was to create a writers' theatre, with a view to discovering new writers and producing serious contemporary works. Look Back in Anger, which he first staged in 1956, is often seen as the starting point of modern British drama. Written by John Osborne, Look Back in Anger is the story of a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man (Jimmy Porter), his upper-middle-class, impassive wife (Alison), and her snooty best friend (Helena Charles). Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace. The play was a success on the London stage, and spawned the term "angry young men" to describe Osborne and other writers of his generation who employed harshness and realism, in contrast to the majority of West End writing, seen as more escapist fare. It transferred to Broadway the following year, receiving three Tony award nominations. While Look Back in Anger played on Broadway, the play was revived at the Royal Court with a new cast. This poster advertises the third cast who appeared in a four week run in late 1957. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.24-1983 |
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| Record created | June 30, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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