“Go…take him and crucify him”. These immortal words of Pontius Pilate will be uttered once more when the Durban Catholic Players Guild in association with the Playhouse Company presents the 13th Durban Passion Play in the Playhouse Drama from April 1 to 24.The first Passion Play in Durban was performed in 1952 when the Mayor and community of Oberammergau in Bavaria granted special permission to the Durban Catholic Players Guild to stage an abridged version of their world famous Passion Play. What was first enacted in 1634 in Oberammergau was used in Durban as a means of celebrating the centenary of the arrival of the missionary Oblate priests of Mary Immaculate (OMI) who arrived in South Africa in 1852.
That first play enacted at the Greyville Race course was so successful that Fr Noel Coughlan travelled to Bavaria to gain permission for the Durban version of the play to be staged every five years in Durban. The Oberammergau village fathers willingly obliged, seeing the play as a means of witnessing to the larger population of Southern Africa. Durban would become the “Oberammergau of Africa”. The Durban Passion Play was moved from the Greyville Race Course venue to the Durban City Hall until 1997 from whence it found a resplendent home in the Playhouse Drama Theatre.
In its 59 year history, the Durban Passion Play has been blessed with the talents of many people, professional and amateur alike, but always with the aim of presenting witness to the greater glory of God to all and not just to those of the Catholic faith.
The play involves some seven months of commitment from the over 150 strong cast who receive no monetary imbursement. The cast, an inter-denominational group of diverse people, vary in age from toddlers and teenagers to young adults and the more mature, including a dedicated and active 90 year-old.
The part of Christ is being shared this year between Brett Montanari from Westville and Denzel Deane from Durban North. The role of Mary, the mother of Christ, is also taken by two actresses: Patty Hunt and Denise Rankin, both of Pinetown. The director is the experienced, Dawn Haynes.
The aim of The Durban Catholic Players Guild is to continue the production of the Durban Passion Play every five years thus maintaining this unique link with Oberammergau whilst enriching the cultural history of Durban through the dramatic witness of the Passion of Christ.
Durban Passion Play runs in the Playhouse Drama from April 1 to 24. Tickets from R30 to R60 booked through Computicket. More information from Toni Acton on 082 555 9740 or email: Toni.Acton@za.behrgroup.com
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