Something Real by Martin Algus read at an independent play festival in China 

On November 10th, 2024 the drama Something Real by the Estonian playwright Martin Algus was read at the Sound and Fury Play Reading Festival, an independent Chinese play festival in Beijing. The reading was staged by Li Jialong.

The play, which has been staged twice in Estonia, was completed in 2018 and explores the formation of various human desires, dependence on them, and the consequences they cause. Included in the program alongside plays from China and Japan, Algus' play inspired the organizers to give the festival the subtitle "Something Real", as all the selected plays shared a common theme of blending dreams and reality, and the gradual revelation of truth.

The reading of Algus' play, translated into Chinese, received a warm reception from the audience and concluded with a lengthy discussion, in which the author himself participated via video link. This also marked Martin Algus' debut on the Chinese theatre scene.

Find more information about Something Real from our booklet New Estonian Drama.

Photo from the reading of Something Real in China. Photo by Sound and Fury Play Reading Festival