A black and white photo of a group of people in a room with a large leaf-patterned mural on the wall. Some individuals are seated and some are standing, and they seem to be engaged in a discussion or presentation, with a woman standing behind a music stand.

R.E.A.D is a yearly reading drama festival organized in Helsinki by Post Theatre Collective. The festival which was established in 2014 by David Kozma is an arena that offers the opportunity to get acquainted with plays that have not been performed in Finland before.

R.E.A.D brings together the Finnish audience and local and international theatre makers including playwrights, actors, and directors in an intimate environment. The festival gives a grassroots stage to plays that might not have the possibility of having a stage in Finland, with the hope to influence and diversify the program of the bigger theatre stages in the country.

Event poster for R.E.A.D. #10 with schedule of performances from October 16 to October 19, 2024, featuring line drawings of two people sitting on chairs and a bright yellow spotlight on the purple background.

R.E.A.D #10
16 -19.10.2024

This year the festival takes place on 16th and 19th of October at Post Theatre Collective Studio in Pengerkatu 11 a 3. The 10th edition of the festival brings plays from various graphical locations and will be performed in English.

Program

R.E.A.D #9
25 -26.10.2023

The 9th edition of the festival takes place on the 25th and 26th of October at Vallila Stage, formerly Vallilan Kansallisteatteri. Joining the multilingual and multicultural program of A Season at Vallila Stage, this year R.E.A.D’s plays are selected from a variety of languages and will be performed in English.

Program
Four women sitting at a table during a celebration or event. One woman is wearing a tiara, another a red beanie and glasses, and a third is holding a black folder. One woman is wearing a neck float.
Three women sit around a table, examining documents or a phone, with a microphone in front of them. One woman in a white suit is leaning forward, another woman with red hair is touching her face and looking at the documents, and the third woman in a black top and red skirt is sitting with her hand on her cheek, engaged in a discussion.
Four people are seated at a round table on a stage with a black background. One man is sitting on a chair with his legs crossed, looking down at his lap. Next to him is an older woman with glasses, writing on a notepad. Behind them, a woman is standing and holding a folder, looking at the camera. There is a green screen and some equipment in the background.

R.E.A.D #8
27 -29.10.2022

This year’s festival takes place on 28.10 at Post Theatre Collective’s space in Katajanokka with the title Draama Soppaa and on 29.10 at Kokoteatteri with the title Viiniä ja Draama.
The festival is organized in cooperation with Flanders Literature and is supported by Arts Promotion Center, City of Helsinki, Instituto Italiano di Cultura Helsinki and the Embassy of Romania to Finland.

Program

R.E.A.D #7
4 -5.11.2021

R.E.A.D. Festival Helsinki Goes East!

R.E.A.D. #7 was a collaboration between Moscow and Helsinki. It took place on the 4th of December in Moscow and on the 5th of December at Cultural Centre Stoa, Helsinki.

Program

Olga Shiliaeva: “28 päivää”

R.E.A.D #6
11 - 13.11.2019

Focus Israel: Maya Arad Yasur, Amsterdam
Focus Serbia/Bosnia-Herzegovina: Tanja Sljivar, All Adventurous Do
Focus Germany: Marius von Mayenburg, Pang
Focus France: Emilie Leconte, BERTRANDIN KOHTAUS

Program

R.E.A.D #5
19.-22.11.2018

Focus Russia: Mikhail Durnenkov, Are We At War Yet?
Focus Italy: Chiara Boscaro & Marco Di Stefano, Nouseva Kaupunki
Focus Bulgaria: Zdrava Kamenova & Gergana Dimitrova: OY TUHKIMO AB.
Focus Kosovo: Jeton Neziraj, NÄYTELMÄ NELJÄLLE NÄYTTELIJÄLLE – JA MUUTAMALLE PORSAALLE JA LEHMÄLLE. JA PARILLE HEVOSELLE, PÄÄMINISTERILLE, MILKALEHMÄLLE SEKÄ JOUKOLLE PAIKALLISIA JA KANSAINVÄLISIÄ KOMISSAARIOITA.

Program
Three women sitting and reading papers in front of a blackboard with Swedish words, diagrams, and illustrations.
A woman coaching a girl at a piano, both focused on the sheet music, in a dimly lit room.

R.E.A.D #4
22.-24.11.2017

Focus Iran: Mahin Sadri, Acclimatization
Focus France: Matei Visniec, Migraaaants
Focus Greece: Andreas Flourakis, The Things You Take with You
Focus Moldova: Nicoleta Esinencu, That Moment
Focus Germany: Sibylle Berg, Ja nyt: Maailma!

Program

R.E.A.D #3
24.-28.10.2016

Focus Germany: Anja Hilling, Surun musta eläin
Focus Romania: Geanina Carbunariu, Mihaela, the Tiger of Our Town
Focus Hungary: George Tabori, Juhlavuosi

Program
Black and white photo of three people sitting at a long table with script papers and glasses of water in front of them. The person in the middle appears to be speaking or singing with eyes closed and hand on the table. The woman on the left is smiling with arms crossed. The woman on the right is looking on with arms crossed. The background has theatrical props and structures.
A black and white photo of a man and woman hugging. The man is reading a piece of paper or a note while the woman is facing away from the camera. The background is plain and dark.

R.E.A.D #2
25.-30.10.2015

Focus Germany: Wolfram Lotz, Suuri marssi
Focus Denmark: Peter Asmussen, Ei kukaan kohtaa ketään
Focus Hungary: Csaba Székely, Pidättekö banaanista, toverit?
Focus Russia: Ivan Vyrypaev, Illusions
Focus China: Zhu Yi, I Am a Moon

Program
A group of people sitting on chairs in a panel discussion or meeting, with artwork of human figures on the wall behind them, in a dimly lit room.
Black and white photo of a woman with light hair, wearing a black top, looking down at a music stand with sheet music, on a dark background.

 R.E.A.D #1

The first R.E.A.D took place in 2014 with a three-day program. Introducing Germany: Katharina Schmitt – SAM
Introducing Hungary: Háy János Géza – boy (A gézagyerek)
Introducing Norway: Fredrik Brattberg – The Returning
Introducing Russia: Valentin Krasnogorov – Pelicans of the Wilderness
Introducing Italy: Ana Candida de Carvalho Carneiro – BABEL
Introducing Estonia: Piret Jaaks  – To See Pink Elephants
Introducing UK: Dennis Kelly – The Ritual Slaughter of Gorge Mastromas 
Introducing France: Jean-Luc Lagarce: Just the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde)

Program