HOME TRUTHS: Margot

Margot is a 25 year old actor, writer and multi-disciplinary artist. She
lives with her family in an ex-display home in Dandenong in Melbourne’s
suburbs. A spirit lives in the tree in her front yard, and she’s looking
forward to a time when she can return to her other homes in the city –
theatres, cafes, rehearsal rooms and shops.

Name: Margot

Age: 25

Lives in: Dandenong, Melbourne

Please finish this sentence: I feel at home when… I can sit somewhere to laugh, rest, and think.

What does home mean to you?

Home is where you can feel comfortable being yourself. Somewhere restorative and supportive. It can be a few places, if you’re lucky. I’ve felt at home in a lot of places because different places satisfy me in different ways.

Has this changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?

I’ve come to love staying home but lockdown has certainly made me miss the other places I consider home. I miss theatres, rehearsal rooms, cafes, and shops. I miss being in the city all the time. Do I miss spending 2 to 4 hours on public transport (depending on how much Metro has their shit together) everyday? TBC. But working from home has collapsed all the boundaries. My day job, creative work, dwindling social life, and “relaxation time” are all happening with my ass on the same overpriced swivel chair. Sometimes I sit on the bed as a treat. Because so much of my life happened in the city, I had to consciously make my bedroom feel like home again instead of just a place I slept before going somewhere else. It was about a month into lockdown that I became desperate to break out of my childhood bedroom. I painted the walls dark teal on a whim, ordered new bedsheets, and bought some good WFH furniture. I needed something, anything to feel dramatically different, a new sense of ownership over this space that had known me for too long.

Where’s home for you?

Right now I live in an ex-display home in the suburbs near Dandenong. It’s where my family and I have lived for 15 years – our second home in Australia and the only home my youngest brother knows. I almost can’t imagine only knowing one house as your home. I remember seeing the house for the first time. We’d been house hunting for months by then, so I didn’t even get out of the car because I thought it was so nice that there was no way my parents were considering it. I like this house well enough. It gets plenty of natural sunlight and has enough space for all five of us without getting on anyone’s nerves. It’s also one of thousands of its kind in the estate so I’m not too romantic about it. I hope that doesn’t make me sound terrible. There’s a massive tree in the front yard that has a spirit living in it, though. We were going to cut it a few years ago because we were worried a branch would fall and damage the house but one of my titas advised us not to. She has an eye for those things.

What have you lost because of lockdown? Is there anything you’ve gained?

Sometimes it feels like I’ve lost some living that never got to happen. Over 6 months of shows and nights out and serving looks just gone! When you live with your family as well, there are many parts of yourself that have to be kept in hibernation. I miss my wilder selves. Those selves needed a break, though. I don’t know for how much longer I could have kept up juggling so many gigs with life and full-time work. Time to “pause” is something I gained, I suppose, but it’s hardly a blessing when it means entire industries have collapsed. Still, there are some other nice things that have happened in lockdown. I’ve become a bit closer with my 18-year-old brother which is awesome … every Saturday my dad and I would watch a scary movie … and every Sunday the family cooks a little feast based on the cuisine of different countries. New little traditions have emerged.

What’s the first thing you’ll do when there are no restrictions at all?

A friend and I intend to hire a row boat as soon as humanely possible. But first, I’ll take a train to the city, buy something I don’t need (a parasol for the row boat), and walk down Swanston with a cappuccino I paid $4.80 for.

Illustration Michelle Pereira Interview Maria O’Dwyer