Marginalia is an adaptation of a short story by Russian author Nikolai Gogol, The Nose. When Gogol was writing in the 1830s, Russian society was marked by heavy censorship, the establishment of a secret police force, and the promotion of nationality, orthodoxy and autocracy.
When theatre company Pummel Squad began making Marginalia in 2026, they found themselves depressingly confronted by many of the same conditions to agitate against. The play opens with Tyler, a barber, who tells us a little about himself and the times before proceeding to jog around in a circle for what felt like the complete radio edit of Right Here, Right Now by Fatboy Slim.
Looking back, whether this was a metaphor, absurdly presented as we come to discover all of Marginalia is, for the working class trapped running in their hamster wheels of production while the ruling class barely lifts a finger and reaps the profits, or whether Tyler’s true passion is making circle pits as though he were at a Slayer concert, it was the one scene that didn’t quite work.
Major Pepsi has lost his nose. Cosmetically? Not ideal. When the system determining who has power and who doesn’t is based on class rather than merit? It’s a crisis. Pepsi’s nose rising through the social and governmental strata to become someone of no small importance? That’s an outrage.
The nose ascends while Pepsi’s search takes him downwards into a morass of bureaucracy. Savanna Wegman, Sophie Ness and Alexandra Aldrich’s exquisite costume work helps define each character according to their status.
Mommy, Pepsi’s mother, played wonderfully by Aldrich, is dressed in gorgeous, garish royal colours, topped with an imperial wig almost as tall as she is. Aldrich returns as another unnamed character, this time clad in wool and drab colours, misshapen and seemingly ready to riot.
The use of collage throughout every aspect of the production, from its mixed mediums and playful styles to a magnificent piece of papier-mâché that deserves a Green Room Award of its own, gives Marginalia a wonderful sense of unpredictability.
Mommy’s dog, the bowler hat perched on top of the nose, hundreds of unexpected Xeroxed members, those first members being slid through a Venetian blind with a printing press-like precision: the attention to detail continually gifts the audience with one surprise after another.
Yet for all the playfulness and absurdity, Marginalia is not shy about making a point or stepping into darker territory. Does Pepsi’s Kafkaesque journey change him? Has experiencing a little of the plight of the working class, even the wrongfully imprisoned, altered his worldview and given him newfound empathy? Of course not.
Perhaps the most effective moment in Cooper Donald McDonald’s stellar performance as Major Pepsi comes towards the end, when we see him regard Tyler with a level of disdain and detachment that is genuinely terrifying. It is a gentle but chilling reminder that any notion those in power have an interest in reaching down to help people, let alone help them up, is dangerously naive.
From its design to every performance, the craft and talent brought to Marginalia is indisputable. Pummel Squad reward the descent into fortyfivedownstairs with an entertainment that is as creative as it is provocative.
Marginalia
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Performance: Friday 7 August 2026
Season continues to 16 August 2026
Information and Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Images: Pummel Squad presents Marginalia – photos by Nick Robertson @nickmickpics
Review: June Collins