They say the walls have eyes; if this is so, then they have eyes and ears too…they see us, they hear us. Over the millennia, as cities rise and fall, the walls that crumble and become piles of stone remember our yearnings. They remember our touches and fleeting glances. They hear our quickened breaths, and feel the beat of our hearts and the pulse of our blood. As our ancient cities, littered with the dust of civilizations, rise and fall in turn, do the stones from walls still whisper the secrets of their forgotten inhabitants?

Inspired by a short story written by Rabindranath Tagore about a man who encounters a ruined palace which was once a harem, The Hungry Stones weaves dance, music and installation to explore themes of isolation and confinement, as the role of women slowly evolves within traditional Asian society while globalization hurtles its women into a westernized, post-feminist world.

The Hungry Stones was first presented at the Esplanade Theatre Studio as part of The Esplanade’s Raga series in May 2011, and further developed for NUS Arts Festival 2012.