The Cracked Pot is more than a translation of Heinrich von Kleist's Der Zerbrochene Krug, as the action now takes place in'skipton, Yorkshire, in 1810, with Kleist's German verse transformed into tough Yorkshire dialect. Funny, earthy and satirical, the play concerns Judge Adam, Skipton's sole agent of justice, who is far from happy to be visited by the investigating magistrate Walter Clegg, seeking out signs of malpractice.