Announcing National Tour For Trent Dalton’s Love Stories

Following standing ovations and glowing reviews at Brisbane Festival in 2024, the critically acclaimed stage adaptation of Trent Dalton’s Love Stories is set to sweep the nation with a heart-expanding four-city tour in September 2025.

This unforgettable theatrical event, commissioned by Brisbane Festival and Queensland Performing Arts Centre, will see Australia fall in love with Dalton’s poignant and funny masterpiece all over again as it travels across the country from Parramatta to Canberra, Darwin to the Gold Coast.

Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina celebrated the success of the homegrown production making its mark nationwide:

“It’s such a joy to see this proudly Queensland-made production embark on a tour acrossfour states. When we commission new work, we always hope it has a long and vibrant life. Love Stories is doing just that. It’s a brilliant advertisement for the heart and talent of Brisbane, and a meaningful way to keep our artists inspired and employed.”

QPAC Chief Executive Rachel Healy echoed Bezzina’s enthusiasm for the ongoing touring of new Queensland work.

“This is our second collaboration with the dream team of Trent Dalton, Sam Strong, and Tim McGarry. We had a hunch we were onto a winner before we even started. That said, I don’t think even we anticipated the outpouring of love, connection and gratitude that we received from audiences for this humane and heart-centred production. We can’t wait to see how audiences further afield engage with Love Stories as it tours the country.”

Adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Tim McGarry and directed by Sam Strong, Love Stories invites audiences into Dalton’s world. A city street corner, a battered Olivetti typewriter, and a simple question asked of passing strangers. “Can you please tell me a love story?”

From real-life tales of passion and heartbreak to the profound connections between parents and children, friends and soulmates, Love Stories captures the beating heart of humanity. Woven with music, laughter, and tenderness, it’s a theatrical experience that leaves no heart untouched.

Trent Dalton reflected on the remarkable journey of these stories, from a Brisbane street corner to theatres across the nation:

“It is deeply moving to me to think that these extraordinary stories that I gathered while sitting at a writing desk with a typewriter on the corner of Adelaide and Albert Streets, Brisbane, are now taking the most gifted collection of theatremakers around this beautiful country. The real-life people who told these stories came from all corners of Australia. It’s to all corners of this country that we’re trying to reach with this remarkable stage play.

I am bombarded daily with people sliding into my DMs, asking when Love Stories is coming to their neck of the woods. We have tried so very hard to accommodate every last fan of that book who wants to see this thing brought to life on stage. I promise, heart and soul, that the play is worth the wait. The thing reaches into your soul and doesn’t let it go for 100 minutes of aching, rib-tickling, heart-breaking, heart-restoring love-filled theatre. You drive home being reminded of all that is wondrous in this life. All that is wondrous about love.”

This poignant and funny masterpiece features a stellar cast of ten including Rashidi Edward (Belvoir’s Wayside Bride), Jason Klarwein (ABC’s In Our Blood), Anna McGahan (La Boite Theatre’s Closer), Ngoc Phan (Queensland Theatre’s Vietgone), Will Tan (Paramount Plus’ Paper Dolls), Valerie Bader (Ensemble’s The Heartbreak Choir), Kirk Page (Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Wudjang: Not the Past, ABC’s Mystery Roads), Bryan Probets (Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe), Jacob Watton (RAVA’s Charlotte’s Web) and Hsin-Ju Ely (La Boite Theatre’s The Poison of Polygamy).

Riverside Theatres’ Director Craig McMaster said:

“We’re thrilled to be bringing Love Stories to Riverside. It’s a powerful step on our strategic path to becoming Australia’s next major performing arts and theatre centre. Works like this — nationally significant, emotionally resonant, and deeply human — reflect the bold, unifying storytelling that will define the redeveloped Riverside and place Parramatta at the heart of New South Wales and Australia’s cultural future.”

Visit venue websites for tour details, links below. Secure your seat for this moving celebration of love, laughter, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Trent Dalton’s Love Stories will tour Parramatta, Canberra, Darwin and the Gold Coast from 11 September 2025. Dates below.

Tickets: See links below

Website: https://www.brisbanefestival.com.au/

Socials: https://www.instagram.com/brisbanefestival/ and https://www.instagram.com/trentdaltonauthor/

2025 Tour Dates:

Sydney 11 – 20 September, Riverside Theatres, Parramatta On sale now

Canberra 24 – 27 September, Canberra Theatre Centre On sale now

Darwin 2 – 4 October, Darwin Entertainment Centre On sale now

Gold Coast 9 – 11 October, Home of the Arts (HOTA) On sale now

Photo credits: Andrew Beveridge