Cara Han: Extreme Jump!

The hilarious, often slapstick production has enjoyed acclaim all over the world and is now returning to OzAsia Festival as the revamped Extreme Jump!. “We’re very excited to be coming back,” the show’s producer, Cara Han, says, “and while it’s the same characters in the show, we have made a few changes. For example, we’ve added some new choreography to the martial arts section. And there are some different performers. “Because we don’t use any words, we have been able to tour it around the world for the last eight years,” she adds. “It’s been great to see the show develop over the years.” Jump began life in Seoul in 2003 before taking on Edinburgh Fringe Festival the following year and then enjoying sell out runs on London’s West End as well as on New York’s Broadway. “It was originally called Crazy Family,” Han laughs, “but we soon changed the name to Jump. And doing so well at Edinburgh Fringe was a big help because from there we were able to develop a brand. The audiences loved it and we also got such great reviews in Edinburgh that it created a lot of interest [in the show] and we were soon being asked to tour Jump to lots of different places.” Han, who constantly travels with the company, says they enjoyed their debut Australian tour in 2010. “OzAsia Festival was fantastic,” she enthuses. “The Australian people were very receptive and gave us a great response. To be honest, we were not quite sure how we would go, but we got lots of great reviews and everyone seemed to love the show. It was quite amazing actually and made us very happy. “The show is suitable for people of any age. It’s a very easy to understand story and people really love the slapstick comedy combined with the martial arts. It’s great to see whole families coming along and everyone enjoying it.” The show’s continued success has meant that Yegam Theatre Company has had little time to develop any new work, although Han suggests a new creation will soon be up and running. “We still have lots of touring with the current show coming up but we have another show called Breakout. “It’s a dance comedy show with martial arts and is a story about prisoners, hence the title,” Han concludes. “We will be opening it later in the year and I will also be talking to the people at OzAsia about maybe bringing Breakout down to the festival at some stage.” Extreme Jump! OzAsia Festival Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre Sat Sep 28 and Sun Sep 29