Review: Estonian Drama Theatre's guest performance "Clean Business" draws big crowds at Dailes Theatre

The Estonian Drama Theatre brought its production "Clean Business" (Rahamaa) to Riga's Dailes Theatre. Created in 2024 by playwright Mehis Pihla and director Henrik Tompere, the play depicts one of the biggest financial scandals in recent Estonian history. In Estonia itself, tickets for the show reportedly sell out within minutes.

All three performances at the roughly thousand-seat Dailes Theatre hall were filled to the last row. However, the reviewer noted that the majority of the audience appeared to be Estonians — during intermissions, mostly Estonian could be heard, and among the recognizable faces in the crowd were largely Latvian theatre professionals rather than general audience members.

Parallels with Latvian theatre

The review drew a comparison to the recent surge of Latvian interest in the production "Order No. 2" by Valters Sīlis and Matīss Gricmanis. In both cases, audiences seem drawn to behind-the-scenes stories of politics and finance — material that entertains while also leaving a distinct feeling of unease.

The reviewer observed that the production's theatrical language — live filming, a distinctive sound design, close-ups of actors projected on screen, and tightly coordinated physical performance — recalled the style of Dailes Theatre's own recent large-scale productions.

The article also references an interview by journalist Inga Spriņģe with Mehis Pihla, published in the magazine "IR," in which, alongside a photo from the production "Rothko," it is noted that while Dailes Theatre tours major European festivals, the Estonian Drama Theatre tours Dailes Theatre — cited as one of several things Pihla admires about Latvia. The reviewer suggests envy may run both ways, just over different things — Latvia, for instance, might envy Estonia's longer track record of creating socially critical, intelligent yet entertaining large-format productions.