Passion Play

The Oberammergau tales

"I am indeed a part/ of all those I have met,/ and must learn who I am." A politician, a cooking contest winner, a troubled clergyman, a much-married socialite, a TV evangelist - what could they have in common? Why do they (and half a million others) travel to Oberammergau, the small German village that has staged a Passion Play every tenth year since 1634? In a four-day bus trip, very different people are drawn together for diverse reasons, similar to the varied group whom Chaucer brought to life in his "Canterbury Tales". But these travellers do not tell invented stories to entertain each other; they reveal to us with raw and often painful honesty their own lives and motives. "A riveting read as the travellers tell their stories, with no shortage of the seven deadly sins." - Professor Doreen Rosenthal. "These modern pilgrims to a medieval town are driven ... by individualised guilt stemming from their own personal histories. In these pilgrims we are constantly reminded of the 3Ls: life, love, and loss." - Bruce Dawe. "As with Chaucer, all human life is here, as we live it now, and have done throughout our history." - Jenny Gribble. "Volk's swerve away from Chaucer creates for us a linking group of tourists, animated by their approach to a religious festival in Europe. Their story-telling, in her fluent verse, is utterly persuasive." - Chris Wallace-Crabbe