As my carriage joins the long convoy of other carriages on the edge of Oberammergau in the south GermanyI feel a pang of panic.
What horrors lie ahead? Thrusts at the entrance? Endless security checks?
The Passion Play has been performed in this Roman Catholic Bavarian town every ten years since 1633, and has been in the tourist groove since the 19th century.
Captivating: Max Davidson visits the town of Oberammergau in Germany (above) on a coach tour. “The Passion has been performed in this Roman Catholic Bavarian town every ten years since 1633,” he reveals.
The 2020 staging had to be postponed due to Covid which, since the original play commemorated the liberation of the villagers from the bubonic plague, gives the 2022 performances a special shock. Hence the crowds of tourists descending on the town, the expectation written on every face.
For my fellow travelers from Leger, who are visiting Oberammergau on their way to Austria (joining them for three nights only), this is the highlight of a ten-day itinerary. They’re an engaging bunch and, while the jokes flow in the carriage, they could be medieval pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.
From bright-eyed Siobhan from Ireland, who almost became a nun in her youth, to Dave and Diane from Yorkshire, who have welcomed a Ukrainian family into their home, everyone has a great story to tell, though those stories are about to pale in comparison to the Greatest Story of All, retold by the villagers of Oberammergau.
Scene after scene is delivered in exciting fashion, from Pontius Pilate’s entrance on horseback to the Last Supper.
But how can a cast of amateurs, all born in the village, by long tradition, rise to such a challenge?
After an excellent lunch in a traditional German restaurant, we are ushered into the large, purpose-built auditorium.
At 2:30 p.m. sharp, the orchestra begins to play and a large choir, soberly dressed in black, takes the stage to sing the opening chorus. They are good, very good.
Then Jesus makes his first appearance, being carried to Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, surrounded by cheering crowds of men, women and children.
You can hear a pin drop as he begins to speak. The text is in German, but we have an English translation, so it’s easy to follow.
Never has the Bible felt more immediate or more relevant. Scene after scene is delivered in exciting fashion, from Pontius Pilate’s entrance on horseback to the Last Supper.
The actor Rochus Rueckel plays Jesus in the Passion Play. “Never has the Bible felt more immediate or more relevant,” says Max
After two and a half hours, we break for dinner. All the restaurants are packed, and on the wall of ours is a photo of the chef playing one of the Disciples in a previous production.
The second half of the play runs for nearly three hours, but the quality of the performance is such that the audience never frets.
From the trial before Pilate, watched by an outraged and agitated crowd, to the Crucifixion itself, staged in harrowing detail, each scene is a triumph of storytelling.
At the end of the performance, as the huge cast fades backstage, we know they won’t be back for a curtain call. And with good reason too.
They are not wannabes, desperate for the spotlight, but ordinary villagers called to bear witness to an extraordinary life. “Wow,” Siobhan whispers, as we head back to our super-luxury coach. There is no need to say more.
If you want to see the Oberammergau Passion Play, you’d better hurry, as performances end at the end of September and then won’t run again until 2030.
