The Broken Jug

For many years now, the cultural department of the district town of Olpe has been offering local secondary schools these very same Abitur performances as theater productions. This will also be the case on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 18:00 in the Olpe town hall. Tickets are now available from the Stadtmarketing & Kultur office on the market square. Tickets cost between €14 and €17 for adults. Pupils and students only pay half price. Of course, the play is not only interesting for schoolchildren, but is aimed at all theater lovers.

About the content: It's 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 Eve, 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 judge will use any means and any lie. Without scruples, he twists all the facts, declares as truths what cannot be true, 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 the comedy, there are possible interpretations that lend the play a disturbing relevance today.