Returning for a brand new edition, Toy Factory Productions is once again helming The Wright Stuff Festival, returning this September for its 4th season. Created with the intent to nurture and mentor new playwrights, The Wright Stuff Festival 2023 is the culmination of that mentorship, as a graduation showcase for their budding playwrights to present their work as full productions, at the end of the 9-month programme.

This year, the playwrights were also tasked with a unique condition – that all their plays had to correspond to the festival theme of “Climate”. Sustainability then, is at the heart of this year’s festival, not only from a green point of view, but also to sustain the arts by nurturing the next generation of theatre-makers.

“The Wright Stuff Festival serves as a platform for playwrights to be discovered, mentored, and empowered to excel with our unwavering guidance and support,” says Toy Factory Chief Artistic Director Goh Boon Teck. “Each season, we are captivated by the influx of fresh faces, and it brings us immense satisfaction to witness the festival’s significant role in shaping their artistic journeys. This year’s theme “Climate,” compels our playwright-mentees together with their experienced director-mentors to delve into the depths of their creativity, engaging in profound reflection and exploration of this challenging subject matter.”

A total of three productions will be featured for this edition of the festival, shortlisted from a total of 45 entries received. These productions are namely: The Thieves by Rachel Chin, followed by Anthropocene by Vivian Quek, before finally concluding with The Prisoner by Annie Low. Across the three productions, issues covered range from fossil fuel corporations to the effects of rapid cloud seeding, to the underbelly of fast fashion and green-labelling.

In The Thieves, Pei Shan, a determined and passionate student-leader, spearheads the Hornbill State Eco Warriors, a dedicated environmental activism group with a burning desire to safeguard the planet. Their mission takes an exhilarating turn when the CEO of a powerful fossil fuel company sets his sights on expanding his empire, threatening the last remaining plot of pristine rainforest. Fueled by a fierce determination to protect nature’s fragile balance, the Eco Warriors devise a bold plan for a daring heist, but with an unexpected furry twist.

In Anthropocene, Shawn makes it his life mission to defy death and the end of the world, and goes on a time bending journey to learn about the sanctity, limitations and uncanny parallels existing within the unassuming cycles of rain and life. Anthropocene then results in a poignant play on letting go of the world that we used to know and holding on tight onto the things that climate can’t change – the love we have for our community, and our one and only home.

Finally, The Prisoner explores how in the race of fashion-trends, our planet pays the price. Green citizen Claire’s world is turned upside down when she discovers a SOS note hidden within her company’s new clothing inventory. As she embarks on a quest to seek the face behind the message, her journey leads her to a massive garment factory in a foreign land. While on her mission, Claire encounters both unexpected allies and staunch opposition, as she unravels the mystery of an anonymous victim. Will she be willing to forsake her family, fortune, and company for the truth to prevail?

In 2023, Chief Artistic Director Goh Boon Teck also appointed three highly accomplished theatre directors as mentors and directors for the 3 playwright-mentees of this year’s festival. Jeffrey Tan will mentor Rachel Chin for The Thieves, Jeremiah Choy will guide Vivian Quek in Anthropocene, and Alvin Chiam will provide support to Annie Low for The Prisoner.

“It’s a huge responsibility to be a mentor – I feel the challenge for us as mentors is to find that balance between guiding, facilitating and driving the project. Personally for me, I think seeking that balance is an intricate and important thing to do; where I constantly need to mindfully negotiate with my playwright-mentee and myself.” quipped mentor-director Jeffrey Tan when asked about his thoughts about being appointed as a mentor for the festival.

Additionally, stage designer Tai Zi Feng has been appointed as the Festival Designer, taking on the challenge to create a set & lighting design made by mostly upcycled materials and creatively designed to be shared and reconfigured for all 3 plays. Audiences who attend all 3 productions will get to see the familiar stage designs evolving across the festival, telling a collective story through the set design about the detrimental effects of climate-change across the festival.

In tandem with his efforts, Toy Factory Productions will initiate crowd-sourcing campaigns, welcoming anyone to contribute recyclable materials for the construction of the festival set. A fresh and engaging collaborative endeavour for the company to encourage individuals to take on a more active and creative role in shaping an Eco-conscious world one stage at a time.

The Thieves plays from 15th to 17th September, Anthropocene from 22nd to 24th September, and The Prisoner from 29th September to 1st October 2023, all at Gateway Theatre Black Box. Tickets available here, to both individual shows and as a bundle.