IN THE JUNGLE OF CITIES

Does every person have a price? In the urban jungle, this question turns into a fierce struggle for money, power, and the authority of interpretation—a theme more relevant than ever in a society marked by growing inequality. For the stage, Volker Lösch and Lothar Kittstein have adapted Brecht’s IN THE JUNGLE OF CITIES for the present day, turning it into a sharp critique of capitalism and its deepening social divisions.

George Garga works in a library in Chicago when the wealthy lumber merchant Shlink enters his life. He makes a provocative offer: if Garga declares a particular book to be bad, he will receive a large sum of money. Garga rejects this arbitrary deal, insisting on his intellectual independence. But Shlink persists in demanding submission and has the library devastated. Thus begins a monumental duel that gradually engulfs the entire city. The opponents risk everything: money, family, work, love—and ultimately their own lives.

IN THE JUNGLE OF CITIES prophetically anticipates today’s unleashed capitalism, in which social inequality continues to widen. The super-rich appear untouchable, while the most vulnerable are left behind. Fear of social decline spreads across the middle class—a fertile ground for authoritarian and fascist ideologies. Against this backdrop, director Volker Lösch and author Lothar Kittstein reimagine Brecht’s powerful text for the present day. The »boxing match«, as Brecht called his play, feels more relevant than ever.

Volker Lösch is one of the most prominent theater directors of contemporary German-speaking theater. His portfolio of more than 100 theater and opera productions includes work at institutions such as Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Schauspiel Essen, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, Theater Bonn, Schaubühne Berlin, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, and Volkstheater Wien. In his productions, Lösch addresses current political issues as well as social injustice with a strong local focus. He frequently involves non-professional performers from different social backgrounds on stage. In recent years, he has often collaborated with playwrights to develop original texts for world premieres, including Lothar Kittstein and Ulf Schmidt, with whom he has created widely discussed productions in Vienna, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Essen, and Dresden. His recent works include Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera at Staatsschauspiel Dresden, set in the milieu of the Reichsbürger movement and the AfD; Käsch und Naziss at Saarländisches Staatstheater, a play about the self-undermining and defence of democracy; and Candide oder Optimismus at Staatsschauspiel Dresden, exploring how to respond to crisis and catastrophe. At Theater Bonn, Lösch has recently directed FIDELIO and MAHAGONNY. In his in-house production Geld ist Klasse, which examines extreme wealth, he appears on stage as an actor alongside millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn, among others. Beyond the theater, Lösch is also a political activist, for example in opposition to the Stuttgart 21 infrastructure project. At Theater Bonn, his most recent productions include 216 MILLIONEN (2024–25) and DER FREISCHÜTZ (2025–26).