In the year 1633 the village of Oberammergau in the Bavarian Alps was being decimated by the plague
which was sweeping through Europe at that time. After half their number had died, the remaining villagers made a
promise to God - if He would spare them from the plague they would mount a play depicting Christ's Passion, and repeat this
every 10 years from then on.
From that moment, not one further villager died from the plague, and the Oberammergau Passion Play was performed for the
very first time at Pentecost of the following year. With the notable exceptions of 1770 and 1940, the villagers
have kept their promise by performing the play every 10 years ever since.
In 2000 Pauline & David Archer were priviledged to visit the 40th Passion Play as part of a tour from Hipperholme. They were so
moved by the performance that they decided to return, not only for the 2010 Passion Play but earlier if possible.
In July 2006 they were able to fulfill this ambition, and were fortunate in being able to take part in a guided back-stage tour of the Passion Theatre in Oberammergau. This was led by a local resident who had played the part of Mary Magdelene in three productions, so it was a very special & moving experience.
