By: Laura Studarus / BBC

Translated by: Agron Shala / Telegrafi.com

When you visit Oberamergau, a small village located in the Bavarian Alps of Germany, you feel like you are entering a Disney movie.

From the rolling mountains that surround the village to the wooden houses covered in folk art paintings and carvings – a practice that dates back to the 16th century – the words "quaint", "cute" and "postcard-worthy" easily come to mind. ".

It doesn't even seem strange that the area has its own wine and cheese vending machines...because why not encourage visitors to enjoy the surroundings as much as possible?

Near the center of the village is the baroque Catholic church of St. Peter and St. Paul.

It was here, in 1634, in this Rococo-style church that the villagers first took a historic vow.

In a development of events that today is experienced as a frightening echo, the black plague affected the village and in just a few months killed almost 20 percent of the inhabitants.

In an attempt to turn the tide, the residents promised to put on a passion play – known as a dramatic retelling of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – once every 10 years if God would spare the rest of the residents.

The first performances were given in the church cemetery, right over the bodies of those affected by the disease, and – as the story goes – no one else died.

Since the first performances, many events have affected the banning of the show, which is usually performed at the beginning of each decade - including the Franco-Prussian War, the Spanish Flu and, yes, Covid-19, with the 2020 performance being pushed back to this year – which is usually given from May to October.

Historically, it has also experienced mixed support: in 1770, the Duke of Bavaria – Maximilian III Joseph – tried to ban it, claiming that "the stage of the theater is no place for the greatest secret of our holy religion".

However, in 1900, entrepreneur Thomas Cook saw such value in this show that he forced the municipality to build a 4,400-seat theater.

Now in its 388th year, the show of passion affects almost every aspect of village life.

Nearly 2,000 of Oberamergau's 5,000 residents participate both before and behind the scenes.

The lead actors commit to taking almost a year off work for rehearsals, a group trip to Israel and the show's six-month schedule.

And, each man takes care of his hair - a year before the show - and keeps it messy until it's cut during the closing party (their hair is later displayed as ropes in the Oberammergau Museum, a building covered in blue suits from the 2000 and 2010 performances of "Passion").

As Frederik Mayet, one of the two actors alternating in the role of Jesus for this year, says, all group sacrifices are in the service of what they see as a greater good.

In fact, they have been trained for this throughout their lives.

"Little ones grow up in the game of passion," he says.

"The little ones are only a few months old when they appear on stage for the first time.

The first song in the Passion scene, when Jesus rides on a donkey, is a song that we all learn from school.

We sang it for the first time a few weeks ago [during rehearsals].

I had chills.

I have a lot of emotions now."

The entire cast of "Passionsspiel" consists of amateurs.

Still, the production's 12 scenes feel elegant.

Herds of domestic animals appear on stage, including the donkey that helps Jesus' first appearance.

And every detail of the New Testament, including Jesus cleansing the temple, performing miracles, sitting at the last supper, and finally dying and rising again, is played with heart-wrenching sincerity.

Between acts, Old Testament-inspired static tableaus depicting scenes that are supposed to specifically depict the events unfolding in the main story add a touch of surrealism.

During the big crowd scenes, the younger actors rustle up their costumes and move across the stage,

adding the sense of realism (you should know that the children of the biblical era did not always know the weight of the event they were witnessing).

But none of this distracts from the show's central theme.

The play may be in German (with scripts available in English), but even if you don't speak the language, the mission is clear: this is an act of passion.

Christian Stückl, the artistic director of the People's Theater in Munich, who took over the 1990 production of Passion and directed it for the fourth time this year, says that in many ways its creation is a very unique experience - but, in the end after all, a show is a show.

"I really like working with these amateurs, here in Oberamergau," he says.

"It's quite different if I work with professional actors in Munich.

In Oberamergau I have to take the stage and show you how they do it.

Professional actors don't like it if I go on stage and show something.

But, an amateur needs this.

After all, it's not that different, because you can have bad professionals and good amateurs.

They are very close to each other."

During his time at the helm, Stückl has also seen the show go through a number of notable administrative changes.

In 1999 he successfully petitioned to remove the rule that all actors must be Catholic (although he calls the rule that you must be born in the village or be a 20-year-old resident restrictive, noting that two decades are too long to prove that you are part of the city).

However, adapting this to the current production can be tricky when you're dealing with a centuries-old tradition.

"We have a lot of problems with Oberamergau, because the younger generation likes to have new shows and the older generation clings to the older passion shows," says Stückl.

"Most tour operators say, 'you don't have to do the same thing as 10 years ago, because my audience likes to see the same show'."

However, despite the delays, evolution has taken place.

VIP guests - throughout the years - include Hitler who unfortunately was a big fan.

Because of this, Stückl felt it was important to be sure to eliminate any potentially anti-Semitic reading of the material.

With this in mind, the changes made include the addition of a menorah that is now placed on the table – during the last supper – while, at one point, Jesus holds the torah in front of the audience … all to emphasize that Jesus was Jewish.

Mayet hopes that his depiction of Jesus is also appropriate for the times.

Just as when the show began, the world is in turmoil.

If the Jesus of the "Passion" needs to shout in order to be heard, then so be it.

"We want to have a Jesus who is very confident in what he says," he says.

“So someone who is very loud and shouts.

A lot has changed in the last 12 years.

We have a completely different world situation.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

And, in the last two years we have had the coronavirus.

In 2015 and again this year we had the refugee crisis in Europe.

So, there is a deep need for Jesus to be louder again."

Understandably, this rare once-a-decade performance has become a pilgrimage for both the faithful – and those who simply appreciate an epic performance.

As members of the public, we love to see passion, but perhaps even more we are drawn to family stories.

And while it's easy to visually trace the physical genealogical similarities between the actors, Oberamergau's passion play is also the story of the "chosen family" — of a group of people who share a deep love and support for each other despite not being biologically related.

As local resident and performer Otto Huber explains (who laughs and says, "I'm told I'm 75," when asked his age), it's that factor that prompted him to participate,

"Oberamergau is an amazing place," he says.

"It is fantastic to see Oberamergau with this variety of evolution of art, music and theater.

It's really wonderful.

And we are grateful to be able to live in this country.

And, the basis of everything is brotherly warmth.

For our neighbors we have a very good family feeling.

My mother's ancestors came to the city as early as 1600. And although we don't get the cast lists [since then], we are always committed to the show."

/Telegraph/