“Want to Listen – Memory in Spring” An Immersive Installation Journey

“Want to Listen – Memory in Spring”  An Immersive Installation Journey

“Want to Listen – Memory in Spring”  is a letter written to the city, and to you and me.

“There’s plenty of time in the future, remember to be kind.”

Forced to grow thorns for self‑protection simply in order to survive.

Within a space filled with memories, let us rediscover the courage that has long been forgotten.

“There is time ahead—remember to be kind.”

Adapted from Chan Wai’s short story “Memory in Spring” , “Want to Listen – Memory in Spring”  unfolds as an immersive installation journey at The Mills. Audiences will move through a series of spaces, stepping into fragments of a story and layers of memory, listening to a love letter left behind by a kapok tree for this city.

Created and experience-designed by theatre director Pat To YAN, the work transforms the original literary narrative through delicate textual adaptation into a landscape of sound and vision. Emotional textures from the novella are woven directly into the site, allowing the space itself to carry the story.

The work traces the life trajectories of three generations of women as its central thread, beginning with textile work, labour, family, and growth. These lived experiences quietly mirror the life of the kapok tree—growing tall in solitude, bearing thorns, carrying unspoken sorrow, yet still allowing flowers to bloom across the land.

Here, the kapok tree is no longer merely the so‑called “Hero Tree,” a masculine symbol often associated with strength and dominance. Instead, it becomes a reflection of women across different generations in Hong Kong—women shaped and worn by reality, gentle yet resilient, silent yet kind. In the story, the kapok tree even restrains its own growth, choosing to grow slowly so it may accompany the girl inside the window as she grows—choosing to stay, to wait, and to keep watch amidst the city’s constant transformations.

“Want to Listen – Memory in Spring”  An Immersive Installation Journey

Dates: May 30 – June 21 (Tuesdays to Sundays)
Time: 12:00 – 20:00 (Entry every half hour)
Address: The Mills M/F
Program Duration: Approx. 1 hour
Ticket Price: $150
Ticketing Method: NF Touch app
Curriculum: In Time Of Curating Team
Partner: Reframe Theatre
Original Work: Wai-Yee Chan | Adaptation/Creative/Experience Design: Pat To YAN
Art Direction: Gene Ma
Voice Cast: Crystal Cheung Man-ka, Sin Lok Yan, Lam Yan Yau
Producer: Felix Chan
Production Manager: Agnes Lee