A brave Slovene hero called Martin Krpan from a small village of Vrh makes a living by illegally transporting English salt on his little mare. He carries the salt from the Adriatic sea coast to the Slovene Lands and elsewhere in Inner Austria. Written in 1858 by Fran Levstik, the story depicts a strong and fearless hero who is summoned to Vienna by the Emperor himself in order to fight as the Empire’s last hope against a brutal warrior Brdaus. Krpan defeats Brdaus and in gratitude, the Emperor gives him a special permit to legally traffic the English salt, as well as a pouch of gold pieces.

In his childhood the director Janez Burger used to listen to the story on the radio when Krpan was interpreted by the legendary Slovene actor Stane Sever. Sever’s interpretation inspired him to direct a performance in which the narrator takes the audience down the road of boundless imagination.