Poster — Poster advertising Sus at Kirklees Fraternity Hall, 1980, London, 1980
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1980
Poster in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number S.111-2025), made in London, dated 1980. The museum's brief description reads: Theatrical poster for Sus, directed by Barrie Keeffe, produced by the 7:84 Theatre Company, 1980.
Museum description: Pictorial and typographic poster, illustrated with a black and white photograph of a Black man being searched by a police officer against a yellow, red and green gradient background. '7:84 Theatre Company England' is printed in the top left corner, with 'Sus by Barrie Keeffe' printed in the middle on the left edge. Information relating to ticket sales is handwritten in black ink along the bottom white border of the poster.
The museum records it as Printed ink on paper, measuring Height 26 cm; Width 38.1 cm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
This poster advertises a 1980 production of Sus, written and directed by English playwright, screenwriter and novelist Barrie Keeffe (1945-2019). Keeffe began his career as a journalist before writing for theatre and frequently used his writing to address contemporary social and political issues. Sus follows the interrogation of the main character, Delroy, by two police officers. Delroy believes he is being held due to ‘Sus Laws’ but soon discovers that he is accused of murdering his wife. ‘Sus Laws’ were rooted in the policing of homeless people in the 1800s. By the late 1960s, police powers allowing officers to apprehend and search anyone suspected of committing or planning to commit an offence had been expanded. In practice, these laws were disproportionately applied to Black people. Various activist groups campaigned against ‘Sus Laws’ throughout the 1960s and 1980s. In the aftermath of the 1981 Brixton riots, the ‘Sus Laws’ were repealed following recommendations contained in the government-commissioned Scarman Report. The laws were replaced by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) of 1984, which granted police powers to stop and search people with ‘reasonable grounds’ for suspicion. PACE laws, commonly known as ‘Stop and Search’, are still in place today. This production of Sus was staged by the 7:84 Theatre Company England at the Fraternity Hall in Kirklees, Yorkshire. The 7:84 Theatre Company was founded in 1971 by radical British playwright John McGrath and…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- paper (fiber product), printing ink
- Dimensions
- Height 26 cm; Width 38.1 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Printed ink on paper
- Place recorded
- London
Identification
- Museum object name
- Poster
- Museum object number
- S.111-2025
- Museum system number
- O1805764
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.