Attending the Performance
THE OBERAMMERGAU PASSION PLAY RETURNS IN 2022
With very few exceptions, McCabe guests will be accommodated in Oberammergau village itself in guest houses walking distance from the theatre. If you are a group travelling together, we will do our best to room you together, but groups may be divided between different houses.
All McCabe guests will receive a top grade performance ticket and you will try to sit you together in one or sometimes two groupings in the theatre itself.
We will have our own staff in the village helping you to make the very most from your time – in 2010 we shared an office with Jesus’s sister! Everybody is involved in some capacity, and you will be impressed at how smoothly the villagers cope with so many visitors.
One or two night’s accommodation in the village and a top grade performance ticket are included in the basic holiday price.
The Theatre
The Passion Play theatre is large, but intimate in nature. In response to feedback from last time, the capacity has been reduced to 4,400 seats to allow guests more space. The play is performed in all weather conditions with the audience under cover, viewing the open-air stage and natural mountain backdrop (though there is now a retractable roof which may be used).
Synopsis
The play portrays the Passion of Christ from the entry into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. The presentation is so realistic that it is easy to imagine oneself at the foot of the cross or in the Garden of Gethsemane. The action is interspersed with incredibly impressive tableaux from the Old Testament of Messianic prophesies. The tableaux are comprised of hundreds of villagers, with the prophesies set to music and sung by a huge choir.
The Performance
The play will be performed five times weekly from May through September. The five hour performance begins at 2.30 concluding around 10.30 with a three hour break when dinner is provided in your allocated restaurant. (from mid-August, performances begin one hour earlier)
Part One 2.30pm – 5 pm Part Two 8 – 10.30 pm
From a dramatic point of view, the first half is in daylight, enhancing such spectacular scenes as the Palm Sunday procession when over 2,000 villagers are on stage at one time. The second half is quite different as the stage lighting and special effects make a stunning impact. You will feel part of something truly special as the open-air stage is transformed into the Garden of Gethsemane with the disciples huddled around open fires.
There have been presentations of the life of Christ in the cinema, television and on the radio, but not the Oberammergau Passion Play. It can be seen only in Oberammergau, performed by the villagers themselves in the great open air theatre with the Bavarian Alps in the background. A unique and, you will agree an unforgettable experience.