SOCIAL, CIVIC & ECONOMIC VALUE
Education & learning | Equality, diversity & inclusion | International Engagement | Older people | Tourism
BUSINESS PARTNER BENEFITS
Brand awareness, Marketing, image enhancement or PR | Corporate social responsibility | Developing community links | Creative Development | Access to target audiences | Staff relations / Development
The project
Described as “a wry comedy about a man who sets out to buy a beach but ends up losing his heart to a village”, this ground-breaking musical adaptation of Bill Forsyth’s iconic Scottish film, Local Hero, was co-produced by Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum Theatre and London’s Old Vic, and enjoyed its world premiere in Edinburgh in March 2019, followed by a sell-out six-week run.
Local Hero is an iconic brand in its own right and the calibre of the creative team behind the new adaptation ensured it was a perfectly produced product. The project took nearly four years to progress from concept to fruition and required each producing theatre to contribute an initial £350,000.
The partnership
Realising early on that whisky was going to play a critical role in the show, the Lyceum created a list of potential whisky sponsors. The synergy between the show and the two whisky brands was immediately apparent – The Macallan is a prestige product and the show offered an opportunity to engage with an appreciative theatre audience; The Famous Grouse is as iconic a feature of Scotland as Local Hero itself.
The Macallan was mentioned by name in the script while The Famous Grouse featured on a wide range of promotional materials and through social media.,The positive outcomes
Local Hero was an opportunity for The Lyceum to create world-class theatre in the heart of Scotland. The show reached 32,900 audience members during its six-week run in Edinburgh. In a highly collaborative partnership with The Edrington Group, creative aspirations were perfectly balanced with commercial needs, allowing both partners to reach new audiences.
54% were first-time Lyceum attendees and 56% came from outside the City of Edinburgh. A total of 353 people with a disability attended, 437 higher education students came along and 326 people accessed the production through the Lyceum’s Secret Seats promotion.
