The prizewinning audience favourite Business as Usual is travelling abroad for the first time. In August, the production will be performed at Tampere Theatre Festival as one of the festival’s largest-ever international guest productions.
The Estonian Drama Theatre’s acclaimed production Business as Usual will be performed at the 2026 Tampere Theatre Festival on 7 and 8 August. The guest performances mark the first international appearance of the production, which has become one of the theatre’s most talked-about and sought-after works.
The performances will take place on the large stage of TTT Theatre during the festival week. The production is also one of the largest international productions in the history of the festival, travelling to Tampere with a team of more than 50 people.
Audience interest in the production has been exceptionally high. Following the programme announcement in February, both performances sold out quickly — a remarkable result for an international guest production, especially on a stage that seats more than 800 spectators.
Written by Mehis Pihla and directed by Hendrik Toompere Jr, Business as Usual is inspired by the money laundering scandals that shook Estonian banking. The story follows a young man from the Tartu suburb of Annelinn who, through personal connections, finds work in the foreign banking department of a prestigious capital bank. There, he enters a world of Eastern Bloc oligarchs, luxury resorts, offshore accounts and suitcases full of cash.
Blending documentary material, interviews and dark humour, the production offers a sharp look at the hidden mechanisms of global finance and the ways in which money of shadowy origin has shaped politics and society far beyond Estonia.
Business as Usual premiered in Tartu in June 2024 as part of the main programme of European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024. It has later played to sold-out audiences in Tallinn.
The guest performances at Tampere Theatre Festival are supported by the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki, the Estonian Ministry of Culture and the Majaoja Foundation.
Performances at Tampere Theatre Festival:
Friday, 7 August at 19:00
Saturday, 8 August at 14:00
TTT Theatre, large stage
Performed in Estonian with Finnish and English surtitles. Both performances are sold out.