A woman. A dog. A campervan. And 4,500kms of wide open road. Mot wakes up one morning to find that her heart is missing from her chest. She can breathe; she has a pulse — but she feels… nothing. So, she decides to go and look for it. With her dog enlisted as co-pilot, Mot heads down the Highway of Lost Hearts: into the deepest core of the Australian outback — navigating red dirt landscapes, fire and flood, brittle dryness, vast salt lakes, age-old mountains and murky waters filled with lost souls. An allegory for a country that’s lost its heart, Highway of Lost Hearts by Mary Anne Butler is half gritty road journey, half magic realism and all heart. It leaves you pondering the question: when your heart goes missing, what lengths will you go to in order to find it again? Bathurst’s Lingua Franca present this truly regional story, in a brand-new production starring theatrical powerhouse Kate Smith, with original live music by Central West icons Smith & Jones. Playwright Mary Anne Butler Director Adam Deusien Highway of Lost Hearts was a co-production between Lingua Franca and Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre’s Local Stages program.