A few scant minutes before the “Break Out” performance in 2007, the 2,000 seats of IIT Bombay's auditorium were empty. The cavernous hall, deserted; and no sign of the show starting either. Lucia Han, manager of the “Break Out” troupe, tracked down the co-ordinators, and demanded an explanation: “You said we were sold out!” she exclaimed. The co-ordinators, without a word, took her to the door, and cautiously asked her to peek outside. “And there, stretching into the night was one of the longest lines I have seen in my life. They were held up by security checks,” Lucia's eyes widened. “We waited for two hours happily,” she laughed. There would be 3,000 of them that night, roaring, thundering and clapping into a night the dancers still claim, after more than a thousand shows, was their finest performance hour.
Break dance, beatboxing, street dance, hip-hop, popping, acrobatics, gymnastics, b-boying and even yoga come together in 75 minutes of exploration of a human longing for freedom in “Break Out”. And on that teetering order, Sevensense and Yegam Theatre Company place one of the hardest things to get right in theatre — comedy.
Repertoire expands
After Yegam's martial arts musical “Jump” became a massive Broadway and West End hit, its creative team decided it was time to expand their repertoire. “2007 was the year of b-boying. And dancers from Korea were sweeping international dance awards. There could have been no better time,” says Lucia. Together, they — the actors, the musicians, the choreographers, the director, everyone — would evolve a story about freedom.
“Break Out” is the story of five prisoners who, inspired by a mysterious book, decide to escape their incarceration. “But to break out of prison isn't easy — just as it isn't easy for us to fight for freedom, it's hard for them as well,” says director Sang Hoon Lim.
“Break Out” premiered at the Peacock Theatre in London's West End in 2007, and has not stopped touring since — it's made it to several places, including London, New York, Shanghai, Japan, Laos, Colombia and Thailand. For two years, there was a theatre in Seoul that ran “Break Out” and nothing else.
But why use prisoners to tell the story — isn't the hero traditionally the faultless one? “There's a prisoner in all of us; they represent the longing in each one of us to break out of our lives, its routines, its repetitions, and its responsibilities. Think of all the limitations that you're told to accept. At one point, we all have to stop and say ‘Enough!'” says Lim.
“Our cast is composed primarily of people who have been dancing since they were children. We had to introduce them to acting, which wasn't easy at all. The traditions of their arts seemed sometimes to contradict each other,” says Lucia. “But its non-verbalism has helped make ‘Break Out' global.”
