The four costumes are from the play, The Sword Has Two Edges, directed by William Teo (1957-2001) and presented by TheatreWorks as part of The Retrospective, A Festival of Singapore Plays 1960-1990. The play was staged at Drama Center (Nov 23-26, 1990).Based on a story from the 14th century classic, Romance of the Three kingdoms, the play is a tale of Han Chan,(Cicadia) who risks her life for the sake of her country. Written by Li Lien Fung (1923-2011) in 1954, the play was first staged by the Experimental Theater Club in 1977 by D Murugan. In his version, Teo tried to move away from realism by borrowing elements from formal Chinese opera and Noh theatre. He did away with the emotional aspect of acting and got his actors to serve as puppets narrating a story. The stage was kept simple whilst the costumes were made elaborate - as can be seen in this collection. The costumes in this collection are a) Brown robe, b) Green outfit with top and bottom, c) Blue outfit with top and bottom, d) Striped outfit of jacket and pants. While the brown robe was tailored for the cast playing a lady in waiting, the stiped outfit was for a soldier.
