THE PASSION PLAY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 138, 8 December 1937, Page 7

THE PASSION PLAY

AGE-OLD SACRED DRAMA

STORY AND PICTURES

Told in picture and story by Mr. Theo Queree, of the Wellington Theosophical Society, to a large audience in the Concert Chamber last Sunday evening, the Oberammergau Passion Play was made to live again by the incidents of the narrative and the beautifully-coloured pictures with which the lecture' was illustrated and which included beautiful views of the little Bavarian mountain village of Oberammergau, and its quaint houses decorated with paintings, often of subjects relating to their Passion Play, showing how the thought of this little community is saturated with ths beauty of the Gospel, story. Besides the many, splendid scenes of the Play, there were also a number of close-up portraits of the principal performers, showing that amongst these villagers— who have been enacting their Passion Play for 300 years—there are born men and women, not only talented as actors, but also endowed by Nature with the very types of face that the painters of the world have tried to depict as the characters, of the Gospel story. The outstanding examples of the 1922 production were the Christ, St. John, St. Peter, and Caiaphas..

Originally one of the Mystery Plays performed by the clergy in the earlier centuries to teach the people, who were devoid of education, the simple truths of Christianity, .this Passion Play dici not fall into disuse, but gradually increased in fame, drawing greater and greater numbers of pilgrims and devotees as the centuries passed.

The old village chronicle records that in 1633, whe*h the "Black Death" ravaged Europe, 84 of. its members died in a mqnth. and many others lay sick of the plague. In their ■distress the villagers assembled in, the church and made a solemn vow that if the plague should disappear they would enact the "Passion of our Lord" as an act of devotion every ten years ever after. Further, it is chronicled that the plague did disappear and all the sick recovered.

EIGHT HOURS TO PERFORM.

During the centuries the Play has been rewritten, enlarged, and written again many times, until today it contains 120 speaking parts and takes eight hours to perform, attracting hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of the world. Originally played in the open, today there is an immense building for the audience with' a seating capacity of 5000 all on the one floor. At one end the : building is entirely open, and across that opening is the largest stage in the world, occupied at times by as. many as 600 performers. But although the audience is housed, the Play is still performed in the open, for the stage is entirely open to the sky, exposing the actors to sun, rain, and sometimes snow, while performing. Across the stage birds fly to and fro during the performance, adding beauty and life to the scene. •

The lecturer had a host of reminiscences of the Play and of the performers, especially of the notable Anton Lang, who for thirty years has played the part of Christ. From the entry into Jerusalem till the last scenes of Calvary the story is depicted, reverently, earnestly, and with the utmost simplicity. The pictures of the "Last Supper," "The Agony in the Garden," and "The Betrayal" were especially fine. . Tradition and purpose has evolved in this community a strong sense of the theatre, but only those who have had the opportunity of being amongst these people realise the fervour and. devotion with which they approach the twelve months' preparation for their Play, when all amusements are suspended. Apart from the original purpose of this Play, which is the outcome of a sincere faith, there is also another great ideal expressed in the parting words of Anton Lang to the lecturer: "If with our Play we can bring about a better fellowship between men in this troubled world we will have done what the Master would have us do. Mr. Queree not only captured the spirit of the Oberammergau Play, but ffirough it took his audience back to the Palestine of 2000 years ago when the original incidents of this drama--on which the Christian faith is based —were enacted.