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.

August 6th-16th 2026

fortyfivedownstairs - 45 Flinders Ln, Melbourne

Book your tickets here

Written by Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta & Cooper Donald McDonald

Featuring Alexandra Aldrich, AYA, Molly Holohan, Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta, Cooper Donald McDonald and Harry McGee

Directed by Katy Maudlin

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

Assistant Stage Manager Anneka van der Velde

Set & Costume Design Assistant Minami Yamasaki

Lighting Design Assistant Dylan Talbot

Artwork by Cooper Donald McDonald

Marginalia is supported by Maribyrnong City Council’s Artist Residency Program, The Robert Salzer Foundation, and the VCA50 Creative Development Grant funded by the Hansen Little Foundation and VCA Foundation. We received funding from Creative 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.

Presented by