The red opera gown with water sleeves and pants with inner white shirt is from the play, M. Butterfly directed by Christine Lim and Krishen Jit. A TheatreWorks production, the play was staged (June 29 - July 6, 1990) for that year's Singapore Arts Festival at Victoria Theatre. M Butterfly was a play written by David Henry Hwang’. He based it on a newspaper account of a French diplomat's affair with a Peking opera actress. Later the actress is revealed to be a male spy working for the People's Republic of China. Hwang's play is also a reinterpretation of Puccini's opera of the same title. Critically acclaimed , Hwang's play was awarded the Tony Best Play of the year in 1988. The TheatreWorks production involved consultations with Hwang who was flown into the city . Staged to a local audience, the play included The costumes for the play were designed by Lin Weng Kai. The gown shown here was most likely worn by the actor, Ivan Heng (b 1963) who played the role of the opera actor, Song Liling.
