SINGAPORE — That is the question choreographer Ricky Sim probes in his latest full-length show titled, well, Free.

Performed by his Raw Moves company — with guests performers such as fellow choreographer/dancer Melissa Quek and fresh acting grad Lian Sutton (last seen going bonkers in Starring Hitler As Jekyll And Hyde) — his approach is seemingly existential, the end product a series of (earnestly) cobbled together segments that wrestle with various notions and permutations of freedom and display the tug-of-war between freedom and its antitheses. It’s pretty much checklist as it goes through, in its various segments, questions about the individual versus the collective, order and chaos, limits and possibilities. The performers presented their own movements, too, and the audience had the option to wander around in the black box (which automatically changes the dynamics in the room depending on how active a certain night’s audience was). Yes, lots of things to pick up on when discussing “free” here.

Some interesting segments as well. At one point, the performers with arms linked in a circle, explode in a cacophony of confessions as audience members either go around picking up snippets or, as I did, stand in front of one performer in particular and hear her out (perhaps the one moment in Free that drew me in emotionally). Another fave was of them lined up in a “Y” in front of a pile of shoes, taking turns enacting a series of poses to a catchy plink-plonk soundtrack — evolving from abstract, disjointed ones to clear tableaus (giving birth, a clock, etc.).

Sutton’s monologue/physical theatre segment, too, was an odd yet amusing inclusion, as a 12-year-old kid trying his luck getting into a football team. He’s also at the centre of the strangest image in Free: Singing Queen’s I Want To Break Free while getting completely smothered under a group hug.

Actually, nope, the strangest would have to be that of one of the female dancers literally taped to a door with stickers saying $5k all over her.

I had no idea what that was about beyond, well, saying something critical about money in relation to freedom — until it was brought to my attention post-show that $5,000 was the possible fine arts groups get should they mis-classify their productions (as per the ongoing MDA hoohah).

Still, I’m not sure everyone got that. It could have been the one element that would have given Free a sense of urgency. The word and the theme, after all, is loaded and, for me, the decision to tackle it comes with a certain responsibility. One can’t simply talk about freedom or being free in a completely abstract or existential manner, especially in the context of current, heated debates about specific freedoms (politics, sexuality, religion). Exploring a grandiose theme like freedom can be a mark of ambition but, for me at least, it’s also broad enough to invite cliche — unless one is saying something that urgently needs to be said.

And that, perhaps, is the basic glitch in Free. It feels exploratory. Like a cluttered, disorganised essay with nice turns of phrases but ultimately an essay that the writer doesn’t know how to wrap up.

There’s a question floating over Free but it doesn’t know how to answer it. I would have very much liked for an artist brave enough to take on such a word to offer a definitive stand and one that matters.

Free runs until July 5, 8pm, Goodman Arts Centre Black Box. Tickets from http://rawmovesfree.peatix.com/