‘Sad Sam’ sounds English. So is Matthäus a ‘sad Samuel’? Yes and no. In Croatian, Matija Ferlin’s mother tongue, ‘sad sam’ means: Now I am. The eponymous series of works combines elements of cultural history with autobiographical references, and fiction with facts. For his new piece entitled Sad Sam Matthäus, Ferlin has inscribed himself into Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion. After all, Matija is somehow cognate with Matthew. The performer and choreographer takes up the challenge of enabling an encounter between his own body and the formidable oratorio with a run time of more than 150 minutes. Between a 21st century individual and a highlight of Protestant sacred music. Ferlin’s precise vocabulary of movement pushes the double meaning of the word ‘passion’ to its limits. Between pain and passion: a challenging evening of simple beauty.