Jesus is thrilled to see you again in May 2022.
Or, at least, Frederik Mayet, the man who will play Jesus in the 42nd Oberammergau Passion Play season next year, is excited to welcome attendees — many of them pilgrims — back to his village, after a two-year postponement of the play due to the coronavirus.
The play started in 1633, is a reenactment of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus, with performances taking place once every 10 years. In the intervening years, it’s only been canceled a few times: once for the Franco-Prussian War, once for each of the World Wars, and last year, because of COVID-19.
“I’m really looking forward to see people coming together again,” said Mayet, “we worked really great together as a village being on stage for half a year before the lockdown and then suddenly, from one day to the next, you don’t see anyone for weeks and months.
“We are optimistic about next year, because we really want to have this situation back,” he said.
The passion play is now set to run May 14 to October 2 next year. The actors of the village formally began to prepare last month on Ash Wednesday, when director Christian Stückl put out an official “hair and beard decree.”
The decree instructed all the local actors to “let their hair grow out, and the males to also grow a beard.”
Mayet said, “with the hair growing, you start to grow into your role as well.”