Article: The Theatre Backpacker (www.theatreartlife.com)
OBERAMMERGAU PASSIONSSPIELE: EXPLORING A SACRED THEATRE
By Jack Paterson | Part 4 of 10
Originaly published January 19, 2024 at www.theatreartlife.com
Original Article Link: Exploring a Sacred Theatre – Part 4 (theatreartlife.com)
INTERMISSION – EXPLORING OBERAMMERGAU
Date: June 2022
Locations: Oberammergau, Germany
Activity: Intermission
There are several hours between acts, and I retrace some of my April footsteps. The passionsspiechele echoes through every aspect of Oberammergau. I walk down streets with names like “the kingdom of heaven” and “the way of the cross” or named after past writers and composers of the play. Biblical scenes decorate the colorful painted Bavarian houses. These are the Lüftlmalerei – a baroque mural art native to Upper Bavaria. I find a local establishment slightly off the tourist path and order a cappuccino and a leibercasse (Bavarian meatloaf in a bun).
Almost every second shop is a wood carving shop. Sacred religious carvings of saints, crucifixes and creches line the windows next to the “profanfiguren” – the non-religious. Madonas and nudes side by side. The Passion play is not the only member of the arts in Oberammergau inspired by the sacred.
Passion Play 2022 Oberammergau House – Photo Thoma Klinger
The village has a long tradition of wood carving dating to the 12th century. During the long winters, wood carving was both a pastime and much needed extra income for the local population with skills passed down through families for generations. “Kraxenberger” brought these carvings across Europe, selling them from wooden frames carried on their backs as they walked the roads to as far away places as Lisbon and St Petersburg. During the Baroque period, large church decorations were commissioned in Oberammergau, allowing the village farmers to focus full-time on wood carving.
The local Oberammergau Museum also has a focuse on the spiritual and the Passionsspiele. The ‘(IM)MATERIAL – Fabric, Body and Passion’ exhibit has cloaked the building inside and out with fabric from the 2000 and 2010 costumes. The 2022 contemporary exhibits are modern reflections on The Passion.
Oberammergau Museum Jesus in der Rast – Photo Jack Paterson
In the permanent “static Theatre” display of creches and spiritual scenes, there are several characters who resemble the actors who played them at the times of carvings. As someone who works in theatre, an ethereal art form, I find something wonderful in this – that these performances by community performers long long ago are recorded in wood.
Oberammergau Museum “Static theatre” Exhibit – Tobias Flunger who played Jesus in 1850 is reflected in the creches and sacred carvings of the time.
Photo Jack Paterson.
Links & Sources:
Oberammergau Museum: www.oberammergaumuseum.de/en
Images:
1. Passion Play 2022 Dorfstraße (Oberammergau) Photo Stephan de Paly
2. Passion Play 2022 Oberammergau House – Photo Thoma Klinger
3. Oberammergau Museum Jesus in der Rast Photo Jack Paterson
4. Oberammergau Museum “Static theatre” Exhibit – Tobias Flunger who played Jesus in 1850 is reflected in the creches and sacred carvings of the time. Photo Jack Paterson.
Continue Reading The Theatre Backpacker
OBERAMMERGAU PASSIONSSPIELE: EXPLORING A SACRED THEATRE
PROLOGUE or BACK ON THE ROAD (Part 1)
Perhaps because I’m watching a known innovator who values the traditional, sacred, and the new, it seems right to write about another ritual, and another village far from the Balinese sun.
OBERAMMERGAU (Part 2)
The Oberammergau Passionsspiele has been performed every 10 years since 1634. The earliest continuous survivor of the age of Christian religions drama, it’s one of the longest running western performing arts traditions.
OBSERVING REHEARSALS - DAY 1 (Part 3)
The first performance of the Passionsspiele in 1634 was performed on a simple wooden construction at the parish church cemetery over the fresh graves of plague victims.
EXPLORING OBERAMMERGAU (Part 4)
The passionsspiechele echoes through every aspect of Oberammergau. I walk down streets with names like “the kingdom of heaven” or named after past writers and composers of the play.
MUSIC AND TABLEAUX VIVANT (Part 5)
To maintain the unique traditional skill sets needed for the music, the village has multiple choirs and orchestras operating throughout the 10 year gaps between productions.
EVOLVING TO MEET THE TIMES (Part 6)
Widely considered the best part, this year Judas is played this year by 22-year-old actor Cengiz Görür.
FACING THE PAST (Part 7)
With the challenging history of passion plays and the contemporary history of the region, Oberammergau doesn’t hide from its past. Nor does it hide from its responsibilities.
HUMAN STORIES (Part 8)
There is something very German in the aesthetic. Despite the pageantry, ritual, and scale of this project, this is a story about human beings.
LESSONS & REFLECTIONS (Part 9)
In the past , Passion Plays were the few opportunities for local people to engage with their spiritual and religious stories in their own voices.
EPILOGUE (Part 10)
For tradition to survive, it must stay true to its purpose but also evolve to meet the needs of the people and the time