The broken jug

Early in the morning, before court is in session in the rural village of Huisum, Judge Adam stumbles out of bed and over his own two feet. At least that is the story he tells. Because even though metaphorically this is as close to the Fall of Men as you can get, it is just the first of an extensive list of blatant lies the judge will tell.

In reality, the damaged foot and bruised face are the consequence of an assault he committed the night before: While harassing young Eve in her room, he is surprised by her fiancé Ruprecht and hurts himself trying to flee out of the window. To top it all off, he breaks a jug. With this jug in hands, Eve’s mother Marthe now appears before court accusing Ruprecht of the nightly attack. The latter protests violently while Eve, being extorted by Adam, remains silent. All of this happens in the presence of Clerk Licht, who is clever and knows more than he gives away, and Councillor Walter, who has come to review and audit the judiciary. Adam then seemingly puts the blame on himself in front of everybody, although his actual goal is obvious: convict Ruprecht and close the case as soon as possible.

Guest performance by the Deutsche Theater Berlin.