State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company will deliver a national tour of The Dictionary of Lost Words in 2025, which will include a return season at the Dunstan Playhouse to run from 3 – 17 April.
Today the full scope of the tour is being announced, including seasons in Sydney, Geelong, Adelaide, Brisbane,
Canberra and Wollongong. The full itinerary of dates and venues is below.
State Theatre Company South Australia Artistic Director Mitchell Butel said, “The avalanche of 5-star reviews and full houses for the initial Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne seasons of this incredible South Australian-born story says it all. There’s an appetite among audiences around the country to see this much loved book adapted for the stage.”
The world premiere Adelaide season in September 2023 was State Theatre Company South Australia’s highest-selling show in the history of the Dunstan Playhouse. Butel said, “We decided to bring it back for those who didn’t get to see it, and those who want to see it again. We know from our waitlist at the end of that season that there’s still a lot of unmet demand.”
The six-city tour of this work of scale is a major undertaking for State Theatre Company South Australia, in partnership with Sydney Theatre Company, and follows on a string of national touring successes for the Company in recent years, including productions of Girls & Boys, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill.
The Dictionary of Lost Words tells the story of Esme (Shannen Alyce Quan), a young girl who takes it upon herself to preserve the ‘women’s words’ being neglected by the male lexicographers creating the first Oxford Dictionary. Set in 1886 and based on true events, the sweeping historical tale takes audiences from Esme’s formative years in the Scriptorium right into adulthood where she navigates love, loss and the power of language.
The Dictionary of Lost Words was an instant hit for Adelaide author Pip Williams in 2020, selling more than 500,000 copies worldwide and going on to become a New York Times bestseller. It was the first Australian work chosen for Academy Award Winner Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club in 2022 and has won multiple awards including the MUD Literary Prize, NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the Australian Book Industry Award and is set to be adapted into a TV series.
Labelled a “must see” by The Advertiser, ***** “A real work of art” by Glam Adelaide, ***** “Totally engrossing” by The Clothesline, ***** “Spellbinding” by Scenestr and “fabulous adaptation” by Australian Stage, get your tickets quickly as the THE DICTIONARY OF LOST WORDS is set to be a record-breaker again in 2025.
The Dictionary of Lost Words, adapted by Verity Laughton from the novel by Pip Williams – Dunstan Playhouse 3 April – 17 April.
State Theatre Company South Australia will launch the 2025 season on 31 October 2024. Tickets for The Dictionary of Lost Words will be available as part of subscription packages. A waitlist is available on the website now statetheatrecompany.com.au
The full touring itinerary for 2025 is:
• Sydney Theatre Company – Roslyn Packer Theatre: 1 – 22 March
• Geelong Arts Centre – Playhouse: 27 – 29 March
• Adelaide Festival Centre – Dunstan Playhouse: 3 – 17 April
• Queensland Performing Arts Centre – Playhouse: 26 April – 10 May
• Canberra Theatre Centre – Playhouse: 15 – 24 May
• Merrigong Theatre Company – IMB Theatre: 29 May – 7 June
