This poster was designed for a production of Machiavelli’s satirical play from around 1518 called the The Mandrake, held at the Theater S.K. Naumann in Prague in 1992. The play’s title alludes to the sexual corruption of the main characters as the mandrake root is traditionally associated with sexuality and fertility. Karel Mišek’s avant-garde poster shows two pieces of the root tied together, each with a flame at one end as if they are sticks of dynamite that could explode at any moment, a clever evocation of the play’s sexual and dramatic tension. Mišek is an established Czech graphic designer who has created posters, logos, and book designs for such organizations as the Czech National Theater, the Czech Philharmonic, and Albatros Media publishers.