The Dictionary of Lost Words

Schedule

Sat Apr 26 2025 at 07:30 pm to 10:15 pm

UTC+10:00

Location

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Grey St and Melbourne St, South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101 | South Brisbane, QL

Advertisement
Discover the secret power of words.
Pip Williams’ award-winning New York Times bestseller The Dictionary of Lost Words is brought to vivid life in this wildly popular stage adaptation by Verity Laughton. “Filled with humour and historical awareness” (Broadway World) and expertly directed by Jessica Arthur, it’s no wonder this play has become a runaway success.
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 scraps to compile her own far more magical dictionary. A sweeping historical tale, The Dictionary of Lost Words follows Esme from her childhood in the 1880s, into adulthood at the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the beginning of the First World War.
This beloved modern classic, featuring Arkia Ashraf, Rachel Burke, Ksenja Logos, Angela Nica Sullen and Shannen Alyce Quan, is a beautiful and transportive reflection on the love between a daughter and her father and a spellbinding night of theatre.
A best-selling multi-award winner (including the People’s Choice Award at the NSW Premier’s Literary Awards) and chosen for the Reese Witherspoon Book Club, the book has been lauded as an “absorbing, quietly revolutionary novel”, “deeply, intrinsically kind [and] a profoundly comforting place to dwell” (The Age) and “a captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded” (New York Times).
Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Grey St and Melbourne St, South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

QPAC

Host or Publisher QPAC

It's more fun with friends. Share with friends

Discover More Events in South Brisbane

Lupulin Lovers: A fresh hop event
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 12:00 pm Lupulin Lovers: A fresh hop event

Fish Ln, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

CALENDAR
Saturday Night Fish Fry
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 06:30 pm Saturday Night Fish Fry

160 Vulture St, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia

WORKSHOPS ENTERTAINMENT
Peggy zina live in Brisbane
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 07:00 pm Peggy zina live in Brisbane

The Greek Club

OMAC & MYSC: Back 2 Brisbane
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 07:30 pm OMAC & MYSC: Back 2 Brisbane

It’s Still A Secret

DANCE ENTERTAINMENT
2025 Kurilpa Anarchist Bookfair
Sun, 04 May, 2025 at 11:00 am 2025 Kurilpa Anarchist Bookfair

Jagera Arts Centre

Deaf in dance showcase tour
Thu, 06 Jun, 2024 at 11:00 am Deaf in dance showcase tour

kuril dhagun, level 1

FESTIVALS ART
Asia Pacific Triennial: Event Sunday \ud83c\udf1e
Sun, 06 Apr, 2025 at 10:00 am Asia Pacific Triennial: Event Sunday 🌞

Stanley Place, South Brisbane , Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

ART WORKSHOPS
Cirque Alice
Thu, 10 Apr, 2025 at 07:00 pm Cirque Alice

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Grey St and Melbourne St, South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

TRIPS-ADVENTURES ENTERTAINMENT
Bobby Alu in South Brisbane
Fri, 11 Apr, 2025 at 07:00 pm Bobby Alu in South Brisbane

It's Still A Secret

CONCERTS MUSIC
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Sun, 13 Apr, 2025 at 07:00 pm Rodrigo y Gabriela

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Grey St and Melbourne St, South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Wed, 23 Apr, 2025 at 07:30 pm Allison Russell @ Queensland Performing Arts Centre in South Brisbane

Queensland Performing Arts Centre

PERFORMANCES ENTERTAINMENT
Wed, 23 Apr, 2025 at 07:30 pm Allison Russell @ Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCES
Bodhi Tree Blessing Ceremony
Thu, 24 Apr, 2025 at 10:30 am Bodhi Tree Blessing Ceremony

Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art

ART LITERARY-ART
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Sat, 26 Apr, 2025 at 07:30 pm The Dictionary of Lost Words

Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Cnr Grey St and Melbourne St, South Brisbane, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, Queensland 4101

ART THEATRE
The Mother's Day Handmade Market
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 10:00 am The Mother's Day Handmade Market

Queensland Museum

ART SHOPPING
OMAC & MYSC: Back 2 Brisbane
Sat, 03 May, 2025 at 07:30 pm OMAC & MYSC: Back 2 Brisbane

It’s Still A Secret

DANCE ENTERTAINMENT
The Strauss Gala
Sun, 11 May, 2025 at 11:30 am The Strauss Gala

QPAC Concert Hall

PERFORMANCES ART
Tommy Emmanuel in Brisbane
Sun, 18 May, 2025 at 07:00 pm Tommy Emmanuel in Brisbane

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)

ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC
Tue, 20 May, 2025 at 07:30 pm Tina Arena @ Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)

PERFORMANCES ENTERTAINMENT
Wed, 21 May, 2025 at 07:30 pm Tina Arena @ Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) in Brisbane

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC)

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCES

What's Happening Next in South Brisbane?

Discover South Brisbane Events