“Comedy with crime thriller character” at the start of the season at Theater Meggenhofen

Who broke Marthe Rull’s pitcher? Heinrich von Kleist’s comedy “The Broken Jug” is based on this question, in which the village judge Adam has to judge an injustice in which he himself was involved. “It’s a comedy with a crime thriller character, so to speak,” says Fritz Egger, director of the Meggenhofen theater. This will be performing the theater classic from June 10th – as always on the open-air stage in the 450-year-old Kircheckerhof in Meggenhofen.

This year it’s the theater’s big in-house production, and rehearsals have been going on since May. The staging is based on the version by H.C. Artmann, who put the play into the Austrian present. As usual for the Meggenhofen theatre, Egger has added Upper Austrian local colour. “There are places in the area. But we didn’t explicitly bring the piece into the present either – it’s timeless, could actually play at any time,” says the artistic director.

Judge becomes Judge

A major change in director Christine Wipplinger’s production is the role of Counselor Walter, who becomes “Counselor of Waltersberg”, played by Julia Cencig. She is known for her leading role as a commissioner in SOKO Kitzbühel. Egger himself will appear in the production in the main character of the judge, Adam.

The production has a top-class cast: for example, Peter Scholz, a member of the ensemble at the Theater in der Josefstadt, plays the writer Scholz. The Upper Austrian Miriam Fussenegger, who was seen as a paramour in “Jedermann” at the Salzburg Festival 2016, takes on the role of Eve.

As always, the setting of the farm will play an important role. “Elsewhere you build suitable backdrops for a piece. In Meggenhofen we select works that fit the courtyard, which we will use again in its entirety,” says Egger. “The Broken Jug” premieres on June 10th, after which it will be performed every weekend until July 9th.

Acting, making music, reading

The Theater Meggenhofen offers a varied program for two months, including readings by the actors Cornelius Obonya and Johann Silberschneider, a jazz matinee and the legendary band Broadlahn. Last year’s successful in-house production, the tragic comedy “India” by Josef Hader and Alfred Dorfer, starring Egger and Peter Scholz, will be resumed on July 14th and 15th. The family afternoon is already a tradition, this year on June 18th. The ensemble “theaterachse” brings a new interpretation of “Little Red Riding Hood” to the stage. Egger himself celebrates the Upper Austrian premiere on June 22nd with his cabaret program “How my beak has grown”.

At the end of the theater summer in Meggenhofen there will be a party on July 16th. Choirs from the region are invited to present themselves musically. The highlight is a concert by the “Poxrucker Sisters”.

Numerous musicians and actors await the audience in Meggenhofen from June. “We have a fantastic program and we’re looking forward to it when it starts,” says Egger.

The entire program and advance ticket sales can be found at theatermeggenhofen.at