Business as Usual by Mehis Pihla to be read in New York

On May 4th, 2025, a staged reading of Mehis Pihla's play Business as Usual will take place in New York's Bohemian National Hall. The reading belongs to the programme of the international theatre festival Rehearsal for Truth and will be directed by Alexander Harrington.

Rehearsal for Truth International Theatre Festival, honoring Václav Havel, is a showcase of contemporary European theatre organized each year in New York City. Its Spring Readings programme includes staged readings and contemporary plays by award-winning European playwrights from Estonia, Lithuania, and Ukraine.

Business as Usual by the Estonian playwright Mehis Pihla is a comic thriller that mixes wall street-style misdeeds with mafia-style consequences, based on the real Estonian banking scandal in which Russian oligarchs used Estonian banks to launder their money into the EU. Recently, the play won the Estonian national theatre award for the best original dramaturgy in 2024.

The reading will be directed by Alexander Harrington, a US-based director with the experience from several New York theatres, such as Metropolitan Playhouse, La MaMa, The Culture Project, Queens Theatre, and The Actors Studio.

The event is free of charge and includes a post-show reception with the playwright.

More information here: https://www.rehearsalfortruth.org/program/business-as-usual

In the photo: Mehis Pihla. Photo by Mihkel Maripuu