Under the tutelage of Chief Artistic Director Goh Boon Teck, the first 10 years of the 2000s was an incredible period for Toy Factory on both the local and international stage, and together with international festivals and commissions, started to reach beyond the sunny shores of Singapore regularly.

Toy Factory found the sweet spot between limitless artistic endeavours and holistic productions that catered to every need of the hungry theatre-seeking audience. Toy Factory regularly matched inventive staging with earth-shattering experiences for the people in productions such as Shopping and F**king, The Seventh Drawer, Fireface, White Sails over the Blue Sea, First Light and The Morning People.

As Toy Factory’s reach grew, the company embraced Beatrice Chia-Richmond in 2001 and Nelson Chia in 2003 as its Associate Artistic Directors, and tapped on their exceptional talents to add to its already massive repertoire.

The company was abundantly featured on the festival stage, working with Huayi Festival twice on Mad Phoenix (2003) and Shanghai Blues (2008), Singapore Arts Festival twice on Spirits (2005) and The Crab Flower Club (2009), and worked with Esplanade Studios twice on Porcelain (2005) and 251 (2007); It also toured its programmes ferociously – PRISM, a brainchild of Goh Boon Teck, was staged in 6 different countries to critical acclaim. Titoudao also toured to Beijing and was performed in Mandarin for the first time – showcasing Toy Factory’s versatility and effectiveness in its bilingual approach to its theatre-making.

The Crab Flower Club, a commission by the Singapore Arts Festival in 2009, was the cumulative production of what turned out to be an eye watering decade – and is seen as one of the most iconic works of its generation.

In this period, Toy Factory was conferred 13 awards for its productions, and both Goh Boon Teck and Beatrice Chia was bestowed the NAC Young Artist Award in 2001 and 2006 respectively.