Six Decades of Oberammergau

Extract

The writer of these words first witnessed the Passion Play in 1880, and he has done so on each occasion since. The contrast between then and now is indeed a striking one. In 1880 the arrangements were very primitive, there was no railway to the village, and visitors had to drive by carriage fifteen miles from the nearest station if they could afford the expense, or else walk or get a lift in a jolting hay waggon. Whilst the accommodation was much easier to obtain in those days, the lodgings and commissariat were naturally on a very modest scale, foreign visitors were rare, and the necessity for providing modern facilities had not arisen. The theatre itself was very uncomfortable, for the seats were merely narrow planks without backs, and to sit on them for the eight hours of performance was most fatiguing. On the other hand, the prices were very much less. The audience, mostly peasants and their families, brought provisions—beer and sausages—with them and consumed them during the performance. Then, as now, the actors were exposed to the elements, but their costumes, which were formerly supplied from the Royal theatres, are now designed and made in the village workshops. It is indeed remarkable that the whole performance is produced without any aid from outside, and that even the large orchestra is recruited in Oberammergau. In fact, no one who is not native-born can take any part in the play.