Sydney Theatre Company and State Theatre Company South Australia’s acclaimed co-production, The Dictionary of Lost Words, has been extended due to overwhelming demand, with seven additional performances added to its strictly limited season at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Already a resounding hit around the country with two sold-out runs in Adelaide and Sydney, now it’s Melbourne’s turn to revel in this enchanting, world-first stage adaptation of Pip Williams’ book club favourite and New York Times bestseller.
Williams’ sweeping historical tale is brought to vivid life as it follows trailblazer Esme, played by screen star Brenna Harding (Puberty Blues, Black Mirror), from her childhood in the 1880s, into the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the beginning of the First World War.
Harding leads a remarkable cast including Brett Archer, Rachel Burke, Ksenja Logos, Angela Mahlatjie, Chris Pitman, Carlos Sanson Jr. and Anthony Yangoyan.
The Dictionary of Lost Words first captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of readers after being recommended by book club trendsetters like Reese Witherspoon and translated into an extraordinary 28 languages.
It’s 1886 and the very first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is being compiled. Four-year-old Esme Nicoll has a front-row seat. Well, she’s hiding under the sorting table, anyway.
As her father and his male colleagues decide which words stay and which go, Esme collects the discarded (often gendered) scraps to compile her own far more radical, far more magical dictionary.
Adapted by Verity Laughton and directed by Jessica Arthur, The Dictionary of Lost Words creative team includes Jonathon Oxlade (Set Designer), Ailsa Paterson (Costume Designer), Trent Suidgeest (Lighting Designer), Max Lyandvert (Composer & Sound Designer) Shannon Rush (Assistant Director), Ruth Fallon (Intimacy & Fight Coordinator) and Jennifer Innes (Accent Coach).
“This is a very clever realisation of Williams’ novel for the stage and gives great power to key moments of this epic story.” – The Conversation
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne, St Kilda Road, Melbourne
Season: 21 February – 17 March 2024 (previews: 17 – 20 February)
Information and Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
Image: The Dictionary of Lost Words by Lisa White