The Dictionary of Lost Words

Love. Eternal.

After delighting audiences and critics alike in sold out seasons in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, our highest and fastest selling show in the history of the Dunstan Playhouse returns to Adelaide as part of a wider national tour throughout 2025.

Lovingly adapted by South Australian playwright Verity Laughton from Pip Williams’ acclaimed bestseller, The Dictionary of Lost Words is back.

In 1901, the word bondmaid was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. The Dictionary of Lost Words is the story of the girl who found it.

A multi-award winner, the book has been praised by critics as an “absorbing, quietly revolutionary novel” (The Age) and
“a captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded” (The New York Times).

Motherless and ever curious, Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium – the “Scrippy”, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. She hides beneath the table and catches discarded words as they fall – words the men find irrelevant and unimportant … female words. Here begins Esme’s collection of her own dictionary: the Dictionary of Lost Words.

As the years pass and Esme’s world expands and her circle of friends grows – actresses, suffragettes, market traders, workers, she realises the power in gathering their voices, and lending hers. And on the way, she comes to understand the many meanings of the word “love”.

CONTENT
Recommended for ages 16+. Contains strong language, mature themes, theatrical smoke and haze, and theatrical blood.

RUN TIME
2 hours and 45 mins (including interval). Subject to change.

Single tickets are now on sale! Tickets can also be purchased via Ticketek:

BOOK NOW

Package 4-6 Plays from our main season to access the best seats in the house, discounted ticket prices and exclusive benefits. Plus, get priority access and discounts for our Add-on show and Stateside program.

Click here for information on how to Subscribe.

Single tickets will be available to purchase from 2 December 2024.

Single Ticket Prices

Tickets from $81.00
All bookings incur an $9.50 transaction fee.
Visit the Ticket Price page for the full list of subscription and single ticket prices.

Audio Described Performances and Pre-Show Briefing for blind and vision impaired patrons
Monday, 7 April, 5.30pm (briefing), 6.30pm (performance), with a post-show Q&A
Saturday, 12 April, 12.00pm (briefing), 1.00pm (performance)

Captioned Performances for deaf and hard of hearing patrons
Wednesday, 9 April, 11.00am

Wheelchair access & Companion Cards
Wheelchair accessible seats, companion cards and other accessible bookings can be made via phone on 08 8415 5353 (Monday – Friday, 9.00am – 5.00pm), or via email at tickets@statetheatrecompany.com.au.

Visit the Access page for more information on our Access Program.

Post Show Q&As
We hold Q&As with our artists and creative teams so that you can ask questions about the production.
– Monday, 17 April
– Wednesday, 9 April (matinee performance)

A Date with State
Supported by the Office for Ageing Well and Seniors Card, join us for our 2024 A Date With State program, with pre-show tea and coffee before the performance and a post-show Q&A.
– Wednesday, 9 April, 10.00am (pre-show tea and coffee), 11.00am (performance)

State Theatre Company South Australia is offering one school performance as part of our season of The Dictionary of Lost Words. Visit the State Educate resources page for the Study Guide and What to Expect.

School performances
Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre

• Friday 4 April 11.00am

Check performance availability here

Complete booking form here

Any enquiries should be directed to education@statetheatrecompany.com.au.

Venue Access

This show will be performed at the Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre.

The recommended Dunstan Playhouse and Space Theatre drop off zone is at the northern end of the Riverbank Footbridge on War Memorial Drive (walk across the Footbridge to Dunstan Playhouse) or at the Intercontinental Hotel (walk north between the Intercontinental Hotel and Railway Station along the laneway to the Riverbank). There is also a drop off area and two accessible car spaces on lower Festival Drive, accessible from the west via Montefiore Road.

Getting to the Venue

Adelaide Festival Centre is easily accessible by public transport, including the tram (stop at Railway Station), trains, buses and a free bus service that operates on a loop throughout the city and North Adelaide with stops on the corner of King William Road and North Terrace.

For more information visit https://adelaidemetro.com.au/

For information about parking near the Adelaide Festival Centre, please click here.

Dining Options

Malt Shovel Taphouse
Located at the Adelaide Festival Centre at the end of the Adelaide Oval footbridge
Open Wednesday 3pm-11pm and Thursday – Sunday 11.30am-late

The Strathmore Hotel
Located 5 minutes from the Dunstan Playhouse at 29 North Terrace, Adelaide SA 5000
Open 7 days, 11am – 3am