Pummel Squad are back with a new play adapted from Nikolai Gogol’s satirical short story ‘The Nose’, exploring vanity, shamelessness, and the limits of satire in a world that’s beyond parody.
On the same day that a barber gets beaten up for a crime he didn’t commit, Major Pepsi wakes to find his nose has vanished from his face and taken on a life of its own.
What ensues is a madcap quest to claw Pepsi’s nose back, featuring a dazzling array of iconic characters, the humiliating bureaucratic spider’s web of asking for help, a monstrous police force, and a parliament of clowns. As for the barber? Who cares about him.
Marginalia is a shameless punch-on about privilege, saving face, and cutting off your nose to spite it.
6-16 August 2026
fortyfivedownstairs – 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne
Book your tickets here
Social Script available here
Written by Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta & Cooper Donald McDonald
Directed by Katy Maudlin
Featuring Alexandra Aldrich, AYA, Molly Holohan, Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta, Cooper Donald McDonald and Harry McGee
Producer & Dramaturg Mark Pritchard
Set & Costume Designer Savanna Wegman
Lighting Designer Amelia Lever-Davidson
Composer & Sound Designer Justin Gardam
Production Manager & Stage Manager Seamus Allan
Costume Supervisor and Maker: Sophie Ness
Additional Costume Design: Alexandra Aldrich
Assistant Stage Manager Anneka van der Velde
Set & Costume Design Assistant Minami Yamasaki
Lighting Design Assistant Dylan Talbot
Intimacy Coordinator: Kiana Daniele
Fight Choreographer: Colin Sneesby
Poster Artwork by Cooper Donald McDonald
Trailer directed and edited by Gus Simpfendorfer
Acknowledgements
Marginalia is supported by Maribyrnong City Council’s Artist Residency Program, The Robert Salzer Foundation, and the VCA50 Creative Development Grant. We received funding from Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Thanks also to Janine Tai, Alex Fimeri, Sholto St Cloud, University of Melbourne Arts & Culture, and the City of Darebin.
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