Events
Heidelberger Stückemarkt: Festival for Contemporary Drama
The Heidelberger Stückemarkt at the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg is one of the most respected German-language festivals for contemporary playwriting. Every year in late April and early May it puts new, as yet unperformed work in front of an audience for the first time.
What it is
The Stückemarkt is a festival for new drama rather than for revivals. Its core is a set of staged readings of plays that have never been performed, presented alongside invited guest productions from other theaters and open discussions with the audience about where contemporary theater is heading.
When and where
Late April into early May, at the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg in the Old Town.
Should you go if your German is limited?
Be realistic about this one. The Stückemarkt is a German-language festival built around new text, so the readings depend heavily on language. If you follow German comfortably it is one of the most interesting things on the Heidelberg calendar. If you do not, the guest productions may still be worth a look, but the festival is not built for visitors the way a music or film festival is.