Debritz – Badische State Theater Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe

About this event

Debritz is a world premiere by playwright Kaleb Erdmann, who received the 2026 Kleist Advancement Award for the piece. Brit Bartkowiak’s staging intertwines folk theatre, fairy tale, satire, and social drama to portray a fictional East German village in transition. At the center is Peggy, a sugar-beet farmer who rebels against her community’s frozen longing for identity and devises a radical plan when the local brine spring contaminates the groundwater. Sets and costumes are by Hella Prokoph, with music by Jeremy Heiß, and dramaturgy by Sarah Charlotte Becker. The Kleist Award jury praised Erdmann for navigating “virtuosically between worlds, genres, and realities,” calling Debritz above all “a joyful plea for the theatre.”

Cast & creative

• R

  Peggy

  Rebecca Seidel
• J

  Maik

  Jannik Süselbeck
• A

  Mayor

  Andre Wagner
• A

  Sebi76

  Andre Wagner
• A

  Soljanka 47

  Andre Wagner
• C

  Simone From Boeblingen

  Claudia Hübschmann
• C

  Soljanka 43

  Claudia Hübschmann
• A

  The Salt Spirit

  Antonia Mohr
• C

  Chorus Of The Former Salt Works

  Claudia Hübschmann
• A

  Chorus Of The Former Salt Works

  Antonia Mohr
• A

  Chorus Of The Former Salt Works

  Andre Wagner
• B

  Stage director

  Brit Bartkowiak
• H

  Set designer

  Hella Prokoph
• H

  Costume designer

  Hella Prokoph
• S

  Dramaturg

  Sarah Charlotte Becker