When I first knew that I was going to watch The Tailor Made Man, I didn’t know what to expect. But after going to a dozen of Christmas production, the Tailor Made Man stood out because it made the Bible real.
More than 1200 people came to watch The Tailor Made Man in PJ Live Arts over five shows from 7th to 9th of August.
Why real? When I read the Bible, a few characters seemed unreal to me due to their flawlessness. I wondered if they were even human.
And one such perfect man is Joseph, said to be a picture of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament, for his flawlessness.
But The Tailor Made Man brought to life, a Joseph that we can all relate to. From being arrogant and pompous as his father’s favourite son, to struggling with his fleshly desires when confronted by Potiphar’s seductive wife, we now know Joseph was human after all.
The theme of The Tailor Made Man runs in the vein of dreams – dreams as we know of biologically, dreams as we made them out to be, and dreams given by God.
Joseph was given the gift of dreams. And yes, this story is not far from every one of us. I believe all of us are born as dreamers, which dreams are softly whispered by our Dream Giver (God) before they came to be. (Acts 2:17, Joel 2:28)
Joseph was given the dream that the sun, the moon, and eleven stars, which represented his widowed father and brothers, will bow down to him. (Gen 37:9) His future was bright and assured.
But his brothers wanted to destroy him with his dreams by selling him as a slave. Such unity of the brothers showed us that Joseph must have received multiple gestures of favoritism from his father Jacob, one that we know was the multi-colored coat (or a custom-made jacket in the play). (Gen 37:3)
Joseph was given a dream but it was destroyed by the fallen nature of people – his own pride, Jacob’s favoritism, and his brothers’ jealousy.
Yet, albeit men’s fallen nature, God’s given dream prevailed. His Words remained indestructible. (Matthew 24:35) We know later, Joseph said, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” (Gen 50:20)
In the play, we also see the relentless, gentle, and loving pursuit of God, personified as The Tailor in Joseph’s life. Through Jacob’s house, Potiphar court, the prison dungeon, and Pharaoh’s palace, the Tailor never left and forsook him.
The director Darren Yeoh has also done well in crafting ironic yet humorous punchlines of the relatable life pains and pangs we all can relate to.
For instance, we do good but we are quickly forgotten. Although Joseph helped to interpret the dream of the Pharaoh’s chief financial officer in the show, she completely forgot about Joseph once she was reinstated to position. (Gen 40:23)
Not only are we forgotten, our righteousness are repaid by evil. Joseph was thrown into prison for doing what is right – he refused the pursuit of the Potiphar’s wife.
Joseph’s misfortune in life was marked by the tyranny of others. He was a slave and a prisoner because of someone else. How many of us can relate to this situation?
But it is in the depth of his despair and hopelessness, Joseph found God to be true, steadfast and faithful, against the backdrop of family feud, violence, accusation, betrayal, adultery, and wickedness.
The audience walked with Joseph through his sufferings, reaching a triumphant feeling when Joseph was finally elevated to be the Pharaoh’s right hand man. But none could compare to the heart-tugging reconciliation of Joseph with his brothers and father, which brought the audience to heart-warming tears.
Lastly, this show begged a scrutiny of its title The Tailor Made Man; a title that appeared to suggest that Joseph had no control over the jacket he wears, much like how we have no control over certain life circumstances.
But in this show, we can see how Joseph struggled and chose his reaction towards his uncontrollable circumstances. His journey was not one of a natural disposition of sweet trust and obedience to God. But it is a real struggle, of screaming, wrestling, and contending with God for the injustice and infliction he suffered.
Joseph was a real man struggling with his faith in God. Yet, he emerged refined as pure gold, prepared in the furnace of challenges to contain the massive dream that God has ordained for him.
And in his journey with the Tailor, we can see how Joseph was not paralyzed in depression and inaction. Although he struggled in his faith, the Tailor pursued and built his faith in him. And Joseph responded.
In waiting for the Dream Giver, God Himself, to fulfill His dream, Joseph did not think of any task too small or too big for him. But he took everything that was already in his hands and did it well. Joseph gained the immeasurable skills of managing people of all walks – slaves, prisoners, the rich, the powerful, citizens and also foreigners.
The story ended with the Tailor making a new jacket, which is red in color. Personified as the blood of Jesus Christ, the audience applauded when the Tailor announced his new red jacket, saying, “This, I made for you.”
Produced by Actspressions, it is no wonder that The Tailor Made Man won the Audience Choice Award and was nominated for Best Costume at the 11th BOH Cameronian Arts Awards in 2013. My only regret is how this show only lasted a few days.
Coming to the end, I wondered how lavish, big, and extravagant Joseph’s dream is. Imagine having the sun, the moon, and the stars bowing to us. And yet, that is the dream that God gave Joseph.
Likewise, in reflection, the dream that God gives us will be no less and no smaller, but glorious and great to bring glory to our Father in Heaven! A dream so big that we know without God, we can no way accomplish. This is the type of dream God wants all of us to have – a dream birthed from faith in action and action in faith.
God wants us to dream dreams. He wants to partner with us in realizing this dream He has placed in us. And like Joseph, we too are tailor made in accomplishing and containing this dream. He is only waiting for you to realize this dream, a dynamic journey between you and the Father in having you come into your fullness – the fullness of who He has made you to be – so that you will glorify your Father in Heaven. And when we know who God made us to be, we will never want to be someone else or pursue another person’s dream.
A dream from God is not just a dream but it is a dream that will come true with faith in action and action in faith. Ask your Father what is the dream He has placed in you, that burning desire and burden of the heart. And get ready for a life of adventure with God towards fulfilling that dream!
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14)
| Share the Good News |
All of the pictures were credited to Actspressions and Creative Clicks
Leave a Reply