Not currently on display at the V&A

Poster advertising Ra-Ra Zoo performing Stop Laughing This is Serious, Jackson's Lane, 1989

Poster
1989 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ra-Ra Zoo was an influential British new circus company founded by Sue Broadway, Stephen Kent, David Spathaky and Sue Bradley who met in August 1984 when performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Sue Bradley was one of the founding members of Circus Oz.

With a combination of 1980s' alternative comedy, street performance and circus skills, and influenced by the agitprop and political theatre of the late 1960s and '70s, they first appeared in London's East End at Malcolm Hardee's infamous Tunnel Club in London's Blackwall, and did their first full-length show Juggling With A Social Conscience in January 1985 at Battersea Arts Centre, as part of the London Mime Festival.
They went for the next ten years, touring successfully abroad and playing several seasons at the Hackney Empire after its reopening in 1986.

This poster also advertises the opening of Haringey's award-winning Jackson's Lane, the arts centre and community centre especially committed to fostering community circus theatre. Ernie Muller's poster includes a photograph of the eclectically-dressed troupe performing onstage with propeties including a ladder, trapeze and a saxophone.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitlePoster advertising Ra-Ra Zoo performing <i>Stop Laughing This is Serious</i>, Jackson's Lane, 1989 (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Printing ink on paper
Brief description
Poster designed by Ernie Muller advertising Ra-Ra Zoo performing Stop Laughing This is Serious, Jackson's Lane, 1989. Printed by Pinpoint Offset Ltd.
Physical description
Photographic, pictorial and typographic.
Dimensions
  • Poster height: 42cm
  • Poster width: 29.8cm
Marks and inscriptions
Transliteration
Object history
Associated Production: Stop Laughing This is Serious. Director: Ben Keaton. Company: Ra-Ra Zoo. Jackson's Lane Community Centre, Archway Road, London. 6.1.1989. Performance category: comedy, circus.
Summary
Ra-Ra Zoo was an influential British new circus company founded by Sue Broadway, Stephen Kent, David Spathaky and Sue Bradley who met in August 1984 when performing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Sue Bradley was one of the founding members of Circus Oz.

With a combination of 1980s' alternative comedy, street performance and circus skills, and influenced by the agitprop and political theatre of the late 1960s and '70s, they first appeared in London's East End at Malcolm Hardee's infamous Tunnel Club in London's Blackwall, and did their first full-length show Juggling With A Social Conscience in January 1985 at Battersea Arts Centre, as part of the London Mime Festival.
They went for the next ten years, touring successfully abroad and playing several seasons at the Hackney Empire after its reopening in 1986.

This poster also advertises the opening of Haringey's award-winning Jackson's Lane, the arts centre and community centre especially committed to fostering community circus theatre. Ernie Muller's poster includes a photograph of the eclectically-dressed troupe performing onstage with propeties including a ladder, trapeze and a saxophone.
Associated objects
Collection
Accession number
S.2782-1994

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Record createdJuly 27, 2010
Record URL
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