The Dictionary of Lost Words

“Illuminating... exceptionally translates the novel to stage.”

Pip Williams’ award-winning New York Times bestseller, The Dictionary of Lost Words was the first Australian book chosen for Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, and the stage adaptation became a sold out, smash-hit in 2023. Now it comes to Wollongong to sweep you away.

It’s 1886, and the very first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is being compiled. Young 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 radical, magical dictionary.

A sweeping historical tale, The Dictionary of Lost Words follows Esme from her childhood into adulthood at the height of the women’s suffrage movement and the beginning of the First World War. Delight in this beautiful and transporting reflection on love and language in a stunning work of art, with each detail carefully considered. It’s unmissable!

You may also like the following events from Merrigong Theatre Co:

• Next month, 19th June, 07:30 pm, Dog People in Wollongong
• This July, 2nd July, 07:30 pm, Mr Red Light in Wollongong
• This August, 20th August, 07:30 pm, A Place in the Sultan’s Kitchen in Wollongong

Also check out other Arts events in Wollongong.