The Dictionary of Lost Words, Australian Tour 2025

After a successful three-city run that saw the story of Esme and her collection of “women’s words” delight audiences in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide The Dictionary of Lost Words is back for a national tour.

The co-production between State Theatre Company South Australia and Sydney Theatre Company will see Shannen Alyce Quan step into the role of Esme. Based on the 2020 novel by Adelaide author Pip Williams, the play charts Esme’s journey from young girl growing up in the scriptorium, alongside lexicographers compiling the first Oxford English Dictionary, to her adulthood as a woman in the early 1900s.

Williams’s novel resonated with readers worldwide, selling more than half a million copies and landing spots on the New York Times Best Seller list and in Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club.

Sydney March 1 to March 22 – Rosyln Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay
Geelong March 27 to March 29 – The Play House, Geelong Arts Centre, Geelong
Adelaide April 3 to April 17 – Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide
Brisbane April 26 to May 10 – Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, South Brisbane
Canberra May 15 to May 24 – Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra
Wollongong May 29 to June 7 – Merrigong Theatre Company, Woollongong