Imagine this: you hand over €150.00 and someone confines you to a seat (wooden and uncomfortable) for nearly seven hours. You are made to watch grown men run around speaking a foreign language. Although dramatic, you know the story, you know the characters, you know the ending, there is a no possibility of visiting the toilet and for the last three hours it gets too dark to read the novel you’ve brought with you in case of boredom. The near fanaticism and devotion to the protagonists of the audience that surrounds you means that when eventually when it is all over you know it certainly won’t be the done thing to conclude on the bus home: “well, not bad but a bit long, no?”
You’d be forgiven for thinking you’re in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. But no, it’s not a description of England’s inevitable exit to Germany (or similar) on penalties in the up-coming world cup. This is in fact the once-in-a-decade Passion Play in Oberammergau, Bavaria I was paid to attend this week as an escort to one of my groups. Oberammergau is a small and extremely gemütlich village with just over 5000 mostly Catholic souls in Bavaria, a mere stones throw from the famous ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and within commuting distance of Munich. Every ten years since 1634 (with only two exceptions) the good folk of the village have gotten together and performed their version of Christ’s Passion as thanks for sparing them from the terrible plague or ‘Black Death’ that was scything through the area nearly 400 years ago.
The miracle of the loaves and fishes: 4000 sardines
Specifically the play tells the story of Jesus’ last days in a manner that makes Mel Gibson’s Hollywood effort look like a short at some film festival. The 4000 strong audience are mainly Catholics from all over the world, many on a pilgrimage. Attending is almost a rite of passage. Not enjoying it akin to blasphemy. I do not count myself in these ranks, I am not religious, was not on a pilgrimage and only really in row 6 seat 96 as I was paid to be there. Yet when given the very easy option of simply not returning for the second half, but relaxing with a Bavarian beer in one of the towns many bars, I was right there in a very non-Christian-like line, being pushed on my way to the centre of the row, novel tucked firmly away in my bag. This blog is about why after the break I decided to come back…
Continue reading ‘Miracle of the fish – 4000 sardines in one theatre’
Your Comments