Belziger Bachstelze Comedy Festival

A Cabaret Festival with Audience Voting

The "Belziger Bachstelze" is one of Brandenburg's more original performance art festivals. Since 2014, the series has been held annually at the end of August at the KleinKunstWerk Bad Belzig — as part of the traditional Belziger Burgfestwoche (Castle Festival Week). The 12th edition will take place on Friday, August 28th, and Saturday, August 29th, 2026, starting at 6 PM each day. The concept is simple and charming: on each of the two evenings, four artists perform a short program, and the audience decides who was the most popular based on applause volume. The daily winners are then invited back the following year to perform a full-length solo program at the KleinKunstWerk.

Women's Day — Friday, August 28th, 2026

Women's Day brings together four women from the German-speaking performance art scene:

• Katrin Geelvink — musical comedy on the cello, a mix of song poetry and absurd observation.
• Birgit Breuer — jazz comedy with a loop machine; a Berlin comedian who combines instrumental improvisation and wordplay.
• Maria Maschenka — lyrical cabaret, poetic satire with an absurd slant.
• Natascha die Große & Laura Deeluxe — a musical duo with a wink-and-a-nod, burlesque performance.

Men's Day — Saturday, August 29th, 2026

Men's Day mirrors the concept with four men:

• Ulli Lohr — chanson-based comedy in the tradition of German singer-songwriter satire.
• Christoph Rummel — juggling and performance art, physical-visual humor.
• Justus Krux — legal satire; a comedian who pokes fun at the world of law.
• Andreas „Spider" Krenzke — storytelling and anecdotes, with a robust stage presence.

The KleinKunstWerk Bad Belzig

The KleinKunstWerk is the cultural hub of Bad Belzig — a small, intimate theater featuring programs of cabaret, singer-songwriter concerts, readings, and folk music. The intimate setting is part of the magic: immediate connections are forged between stage and audience, which are rarely possible on larger stages. The "Belziger Bachstelze" maximizes this closeness — the audience applause voting for daily winners only works when all artists and the audience can truly feel each other.

As Part of the Burgfestwoche

The "Belziger Bachstelze" takes place concurrently with the Belziger Burgfestwoche — the annual summer festival week centered around Burg Eisenhardt, the medieval castle overlooking the town center. Those attending the Bachstelze on Friday and Saturday can combine their weekend stay with a visit to the castle, a stroll through the historic old town, and a stop at the SteinTherme spa — Bad Belzig is a spa town with iodine and thermal brine water.