Der Zerbrochene Krug

In the organizer's words:

The Ruhrfestspielhaus and the Westfälisches Landtheater invite you to watch the play "The Broken Jug" on November 27th.

It is court day in the village of Huisum in the province of Utrecht. The whole village has gathered to follow the case of Mrs. Marthe Rull's broken jug. The accused is Ruprecht, the fiancé of her daughter Eva, who is said to have been with her at night. But he claims to have surprised a burglar who escaped by jumping out of the window, breaking the jug in the process. That very day, the village judge Adam arrives in the courtroom in a bad way. Not only does he have several wounds on his face, he is also limping badly. The suspicion soon grows that Ruprecht might be right in his statement, that the real culprit is sitting opposite him in court. When it comes to saving his own skin, the village magistrate will use any means and any lie. Without any scruples, he twists all the facts, declares truths that cannot be true and constructs the most abstruse scenarios to save his position and his power!

For centuries, Kleist's comedy about the twists and turns of Judge Adam has been regarded as German comedy par excellence. But in times of "alternative facts", "fake news" and unscrupulous battles for influence, power and interpretative sovereignty, completely new aspects are coming to the fore. Despite all the comedy, there are possible interpretations that lend the play a disturbing relevance today: