Description

For the Passion Play Oberammergau 2022, Theatre journalist Anne Fritsch visits this community in the Bavarian Alps. She discovers what it means to fulfil the centuries-old Vow and perform the Play to a changing world in very challenging times.

What’s the story with the little village of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps? For nearly 400 years, the people who live here have performed the Passion of Christ every ten years. All together. Grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren all join each other on stage. They are fulfilling a vow once made by their ancestors to stave off the plague. This book sets out to discover why the villagers’ enthusiasm for theatre has endured to this day. It takes a look behind the scenes and accompanies the creation of the 2022 Passion Play with its 2,400 participants. In a series of conversations, the author explores their motivations, special rituals such as the Hair and Beard Decree and theatre life in times of the coronavirus pandemic. And why giving up is not an option

Published by Theater der Zeit, the official Passion Play Oberammergau 2022 publisher, and distributed exclusively via Pilgrim Book Services in the UK, Ireland, north America and elsewhere.

This book will appeal to people going to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, who want to understand more of the background, and really appreciate the commitment and motivation of the many people involved. It should also be useful to Theatre Studies students who are looking to research either religious plays or amateur performances staged by local communities.

About the Author

Born in 1978, Anne Fritsch is a Theatre critic and Culture journalist. She graduated in Theatre Studies from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and completed a postgraduate course in Cultural Criticism at the Bavarian Theater Academy. She edits the annual statistics of the German Stage Association.

Book Details

Paperback. 130mm x 200mm. 176 pages. Mono illustrations.

ISBN 978-3-95749-391-0 eBook ISBN: 978-3-95749-392-7 (available externally).