Poster design to advertise the showing of Travesties -
a Tom Stoppard play that discusses social satire, revolution and the relationship between art and politics during the First World War.
a Tom Stoppard play that discusses social satire, revolution and the relationship between art and politics during the First World War.
Poster design / Art direction / Typography
March, 2020
Travesties is a play that follows the often-faulty memories of Henry Carr, an elderly man who spent time in Zurich, Switzerland, during the First World War. At that time, the city was also inhabited by several revolutionary thinkers, including modernist author James Joyce; founder of Dada, Tristan Tzara; and pre-Russian revolution Vladimir Lenin. Travesties follows Carr’s interaction with these men, often shaped by his mixed feelings about a production of The Importance of Being Earnest - where he, Carr, played the leading role and James Joyce acted as business manager.
16x20 Poster
The Process
Since the play features historical figures like Tristan Tzara - the founder of Dada, and Vladimir Lenin, I was drawn to visual cues like Dada's typography and collaged imageries, as well as Russian Constructivism and Russian propaganda posters. I thought these imageries also reflect the play's themes well, like class, politics, art and revolution.
The paper tear, the layers of text, and the collaged faces of Lenin, Tzara and Joyce hints the parody and confusing nature of the play, and that there's literally multiple layers to the story.
Process
Animated Poster
We then reimagined the poster as an animated piece. Naturally, I played with the paper tear on the poster and experimented with a stop-motion look for the face collage.
Thank you
