In 1634, the playThe Passionwas first performed in Oberammergau - a small, peaceful village in the Bavarian Alps, southeastern Germany. The story goes that, more than 400 years ago, when the Swedish army swept through Bavaria and brought the bubonic plague, in just a few weeks, half of the village's population died. At the time, no one knew why. The villagers thought they were being punished by God, so they swore that if the plague stopped, they would perform the play.The Passionevery ten years. Since that day, no one in the village has died from the plague. And the villagers of Oberammergau have kept that promise to this day.
Oberammergau village in Bavaria
DramaThe PassionThe Oberammergau play is said to be the most successful amateur play in the world, with a cast of 1,800 adults and 550 children. Since 1680, the play has been performed every ten years. So, every ten years, normal life in the village seems to stop, not only the villagers eagerly prepare for the play, but also domestic and international tourists flock to see it. According to the tradition that the people of Oberammergau have kept for centuries, the actors of the play must be born in the village, or else must be a resident of the village for at least 20 years or have been married to a villager for over 10 years.
Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, a scene from the 2010 play
Since 2018, actors have been cast and villagers have been preparing for the 42nd production, with thousands of costumes being commissioned and many men starting to grow their hair and beards long. Restaurants and hotels in the area have also begun to renovate and redecorate in preparation for the once-a-decade event. The 42nd Oberammergau play is scheduled to be performed from May 16 to October 4, 2020, six times a week, and will normally last about five hours, with an intermission. Each performance will have an audience of about 4,500.
DramaThe PassionThe last performance was in 2010 with a total audience of 515,000 people from all over the world.
Crucifixion scene
But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government was forced to postpone the play of the decade to 2022 because the majority of the audience is over 60, a high-risk group. At the same time, rehearsals were also difficult, with some scenes requiring 700 to 800 people to appear on stage. Of the 5,200 villagers, about 2,500 are involved in the play as actors, members of the choir or orchestra, or technicians and backstage staff.
Frederik Mayet plays Jesus Christ in The Passion in 2010
This was not the first time the play had been postponed or canceled. In 1770, Grand Duke Maximilian III of Bavaria banned all Passion plays, but his successor, Karl Theodor, allowed Oberammergau to stage them in 1780. The upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars also meant that the 1810 performance was held in 1811 (and 1815); then World War I (1914–1918) forced the 1920 performance to be postponed to 1922; then World War II (1939–1945) forced the 1940 performance to be canceled.
Perhaps an event born out of crisis will eventually, inevitably, become a "victim" of other crises.
