The hugely popular Estonian Drama Theatre production Business as Usual began its international rise already with performances at the Tartu Comb Factory, presented as part of the main programme of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024. Several international journalists published reviews and responses to the production, helping to spread word of Business as Usual to audiences across many countries.
Since then, Mehis Pihla’s text has been translated into English, French, and Romanian. The play has been presented as a staged reading in New York, and at the Gothenburg Book Fair it became one of the subjects of discussion. Now, however, Hendrik Toompere Jr.’s production itself is setting out on an international journey. Business as Usual has been invited to the Tampere Theatre Festival, with performances scheduled for 7 and 8 August at Tampere Workers’ Theatre. At the end of August, the production will continue to Riga as part of a new international collaboration, with performances at Dailes Theatre on 26, 27, and 28 August.
Money laundering has spread across the world like a plague, regardless of how strict a country’s financial legislation may be or how much effort has been invested in preventing it. Like an invisible web, it surrounds us everywhere, which is precisely why the subject remains relevant wherever the production may travel in the future. There is hope that Riga will not be the final destination of the production’s international journey, but merely a stop along the way.