LEWISTON

Figures of Speech Theatre has announced its premiere of “the little match girl passion,” a theatrical setting of contemporary American composer David Lang’s composition. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9-11 at Bates College’s Schaeffer Theatre, 329 College St., Lewiston.

Lang’s piece interleaves the text of Hans Christian Andersen’s story about an impoverished child selling matches in the streets on New Year’s Eve with selected texts from Bach’s “St. Matthew’s Passion.”

“The first time I heard ‘the little match girl passion, I felt a deep connection to the kind of visual theater that Figures of Speech has practiced from its beginnings,” said Figures of Speech artistic director John Farrell. “I began to envision a theatrical setting for the music composed of puppets, masked actors and projected video. The performance elevates the suffering and death of the match girl to a spiritual plane, and it asks us to consider our relationship to the suffering of children everywhere.”

Ultimately, Farrell hopes, “the little match girl passion” will fuse music, dance, puppetry, masks and projected imagery in a theatrical event that defies categorization.

Admission is $15 for the general public and $10 for Bates College faculty and staff. Bates College students are eligible for free admission but reservations are suggested. To purchase tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/2465473.

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