Taxi Drama
Yugoslav Drama Theatre
Issue 33 | December 2014
Agency
McCann Belgrade
Creative Team
Creative Vladimir Cosic Nemanja Stankovic Bojan Babic Marija Milankovic Milena Kvapil
Production Team
Production Emote Production
Other Credits
PR Support Ljiljana Radosavljevic Marija Vicic Anja Kosanovic Radisa Kricak
Date
July 2014
Background
Yugoslav Drama Theatre wanted to promote their theatre and the plays they put on. They wanted to reach out to a younger audience that was not in the habit of going to the theatre.
Idea
Actors from the theatre group were disguised as taxi drivers. They told their "stories" to unsuspecting passengers, actually describing the plots of famous plays written by Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky.
Hidden cameras in the cars recorded how their passengers received these classical plays.
Othello: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5ChLKWnN98
Crime and Punishment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOGsNKlplDY
Results
The online films went viral immediately. To date there have been over 800,000 YouTube hits as well as massive coverage by local, regional and international media on TV, online and in print.
Our Thoughts
Taxi drivers as a media channel has been used before (by TedX in Argentina: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH6Mxzan3fU) but that shouldn’t detract from the charm of this idea. It is a pity the YouTube videos don’t have subtitles in English. Even so, watching the captive audience on the back seat as the passengers become increasingly involved in the story is wonderful. The little moans of sorrow as they hear that Othello killed Desdemona. Then the big reveal at the end. Each film is a likeable piece of theatre in its own right.