Sundae was thrilled to be asked to handle the publicity campaign for Donmar Warehouse’s Julius Caesar. This was the first in the on-screen versions of their phenomenally successful, groundbreaking all-female Shakespeare Trilogy, both directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The film was released in cinemas on 12th July, and had its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where it was nominated for two awards.
The diverse all-female cast was a unique and important angle for the trilogy, one that we were really keen to emphasise throughout the campaign. The meta element of the play, with the cast assuming the role of prisoners who were acting in the Trilogy, came about as a direct result of the Donmar Warehouse’s association with the remarkable prison charity Clean Break, which aims to rehabilitate female prisoners and women with experience of the criminal justice system through the restorative power of theatre.
The three plays were recorded in October 2016 at the Donmar Warehouse’s pop-up theatre at Kings Cross with Phyllida Lloyd directing. The on screen version was shot live over two nights, and used separately shot hand-held material to break up the formality of the live camera ‘capture’, and GoPros hidden in the stage or worn by the actors.
The critical reception for the original theatre run gave us a fantastic foundation to build on. We secured a wide range of fantastic film reviews, with 4* reviews from outlets including The Stage, and Screen International.
We delivered a targeted campaign reaching the national film and entertainment press, whilst harnessing the Donmar’s Young + Free which offered reduced price tickets to under 25s , was carried through to the cinema release, intended to diversify Shakespeare’s audience. The cast was led by our greatest living Shakespearean actors Dame Harriet Walter, with Jade Anouka, Karen Dunbar, Jackie Clune and Jennifer Joseph.
We achieved a great spread of interviews, including a major double page spread interview with Dame Harriet in the Radio Times, leading to print and online pickup in the Guardian, an interview with Phyllida Lloyd on Monocle 24 Radio and a feature with Shiloh Coke for British Blacklist,
A junket at the EIFF gave us an opportunity to really amplify the regional ties to the film, namely through Scottish comedian and actress Karen Dunbar, winning coverage on BBC Radio Scotland and a double page spread in The Sunday Mail.
The first phase of the campaign was a huge success, with 64 pieces of coverage achieving a total potential reach of over 460 million.
(Images: Julius Caesar by Helen Maybanks)
