Heinrich von Kleist: The Broken Jug for the Pop Music Generation
Expressively and with great joy, Bridge Markland races through Kleist's "Broken Jug," distilling the classic into an entertaining pop-music courtroom show with hand-held puppets.
Image gallery
The dispute over a broken jug, heard in court, conceals another crime: an influential man harasses a young woman. Will Eve dare to accuse the perpetrator and thus exonerate her fiancé Ruprecht? He faces military service in distant lands, and Hans Albers vividly sings, "By Rocktown, he's long since in his grave / and flowers grow out of his bones." The web of lies and abuse of power become increasingly transparent throughout the show. Can justice prevail in the end?
Reworking Premiere
Thu, September 25, 2025 - 8 p.m. Brotfabrik Berlin
Further dates:
Fri, September 26 + Sat, September 27 November 27-29, 2025 + January 15-17, 2026
(IN GERMAN)
Additional information
In her classic in the box series, Bridge Markland juggles faithful lyrics and pop music quotations, casually subverting established role assignments. She rapidly switches between performance, puppetry, and playback of well-known pop songs and film soundtrack classics, dusting off the classic material for a broader audience.
Speakers:
Thomas Nicolai (Judge Adam), Frank Zimmermann (Scribe Licht), Ingo Volkmer (Counselor Walter), Sigrid Grajek (Mrs. Marthe Rull), Xenia Fitzner (Eve Rull - her daughter), Nikolai Radke (Ruprecht Tümpel), Claudia Jakobshagen (Mrs. Brigitte), Joanna Kupnicka (Maid), Olaf Grolmes (Servant)
With music by:
Hans Albers, Alligatoah, Antilopengang, Ross Antony, Roy Black, Black Eyed Peas, James Brown, Rudi Carrell, Chefket, The Cure, Marlene Dietrich, Duffy, Bob Dylan, Billie Eilish, Element of Crime, Rainald Grebe, Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé, Harald Juhnke, Nathan James, Jazzkantine, Tom Jones, Curd Jürgens, Udo Jürgens, Manfred Krug, Little Richard, Annett Louisan, Marilyn Manson, Napalm Death, POL1Z1STENS0HN (aka Jan Böhmermann) feat. Justice, Cat Power, Radspitz feat. Dr. Holiday, Rio Reiser, Take That, Tears for Fears, Tic Tac Toe, Tocotronic, The Who, Wir sind Helden, Tammy Wynette and many more.
Featuring music from TV series and films: The Avengers (1961), Simon Templar (1962), Halloween (1978), Hair (1979), The Third Man (1949), Dragnet (1951), The Exorcist (1973), Hellraiser (1987), and others.
The Berlin-based performer Bridge Markland is a virtuoso of role-playing and transformation. With brilliant ease, she crosses the boundaries between subculture and high culture, dance, theater, cabaret, gender performance, children's theater, and puppet theater. Bridge Markland has been on stage since 1985 and has toured Berlin, Germany, Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia with her diverse productions. Bridge performs solo or with other companies. Bridge is a pioneer of drag and gender performance in Germany and has organized numerous drag king events, tours, and festivals. Especially since 2002 the go drag! Festival - celebrating drag art by women, trans, non-binary artists.
Speakers:
Thomas Nicolai (Judge Adam), Frank Zimmermann (Scribe Licht), Ingo Volkmer (Counselor Walter), Sigrid Grajek (Mrs. Marthe Rull), Xenia Fitzner (Eve Rull - her daughter), Nikolai Radke (Ruprecht Tümpel), Claudia Jakobshagen (Mrs. Brigitte), Joanna Kupnicka (Maid), Olaf Grolmes (Servant)
With music by:
Hans Albers, Alligatoah, Antilopengang, Ross Antony, Roy Black, Black Eyed Peas, James Brown, Rudi Carrell, Chefket, The Cure, Marlene Dietrich, Duffy, Bob Dylan, Billie Eilish, Element of Crime, Rainald Grebe, Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé, Harald Juhnke, Nathan James, Jazzkantine, Tom Jones, Curd Jürgens, Udo Jürgens, Manfred Krug, Little Richard, Annett Louisan, Marilyn Manson, Napalm Death, POL1Z1STENS0HN (aka Jan Böhmermann) feat. Justice, Cat Power, Radspitz feat. Dr. Holiday, Rio Reiser, Take That, Tears for Fears, Tic Tac Toe, Tocotronic, The Who, Wir sind Helden, Tammy Wynette and many more.
Featuring music from TV series and films: The Avengers (1961), Simon Templar (1962), Halloween (1978), Hair (1979), The Third Man (1949), Dragnet (1951), The Exorcist (1973), Hellraiser (1987), and others.
Bridge Markland
The Berlin-based performer Bridge Markland is a virtuoso of role-playing and transformation. With brilliant ease, she crosses the boundaries between subculture and high culture, dance, theater, cabaret, gender performance, children's theater, and puppet theater. Bridge Markland has been on stage since 1985 and has toured Berlin, Germany, Europe, Canada, the USA, and Australia with her diverse productions. Bridge performs solo or with other companies. Bridge is a pioneer of drag and gender performance in Germany and has organized numerous drag king events, tours, and festivals. Especially since 2002 the go drag! Festival - celebrating drag art by women, trans, non-binary artists.
