Acclaimed theatre company Pummel Squad are back with a new play, Marginalia, 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 at fortyfivedownstairs.
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.
Directed by Katy Maudlin with a stellar cast Marginalia is a shameless punch-on about privilege, saving face, and cutting off your nose to spite it.
Director: 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 | Assistant Stage Manager: Anneka van der Velde | Set & Costume Design Assistant: Minami Yamasaki | Lighting Design Assistant: Dylan Talbot | Intimacy Consultant: Kiana Daniele | Fight Choreographer: Colin Sneesby | Writers: Ludomyr Kemp-Mykyta, Cooper Donald McDonald
Marginalia
fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne
Season continues to 16 August 2026
Information and Bookings: www.fortyfivedownstairs.com
Image: Marginalia (Harry Yell) – photo by Cooper Donald McDonald