PORTLAND — Snowlion Repertory Company will present “The Conquest of the South Pole” beginning Friday, Jan. 26, at the Portland Ballet Studio Theater, 517 Forest Ave.

Four unemployed Rumford, Maine, mill workers, at the edge of despair, concoct an innovative way to empower themselves amidst the hardships of their lives. Led by their magnetic leader, Slupianek (Ian Carlsen), they reenact, in an attic crowded with discarded furniture and hanging sheets, Amundsen’s successful conquest of the South Pole, in order to face, and hopefully conquer, their own demons.

“The Conquest of the South Pole” by Manfred Karge was translated from the German by Calvin Maclean, Caron Cadle and Ralf Remshardt.

The Guardian called “The Conquest of the South Pole” a “vivid, achingly alive play,” while the Chicago Critic described it as “a spirited, often funny journey of desperation with loads of heart … filled with humor, wit and a child-like playfulness.”

The play will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 26, 27, Feb. 1, 2 and 3, at at 2 p.m. Jan. 28 and Feb. 4.

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by calling 207-518-9305 or snowlionrep.org.

“The Conquest of the South Pole” will open Friday, Jan. 26, in Portland. The cast members include, clockwise from top right, Ian Carlsen, Maergen Soliman, Ashanti Williams, Caleb Streadwick, Eric Darrow Worthley and Cullen Burke. Not pictured are Hal Cohen and Natasha Salvo.