Review: Yve Blake’s "MACKENZIE" — A Teen Take on Macbeth

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MACKENZIE

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Friday 12th June 2026, 7pm, The Neilson Nutshell, Walsh Bay

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An hilarious homage and caution about teenage fame and unchecked egos, the Tragedy Of Macbeth is transformed in MACKENZIE. Following on from her award-winning FANGIRLS, Yve Blake (script, songs and consulting producer) has created a new teen-centric story that pairs 17th century Shakespeare with late 20th century Kids TV.

Under Virginia Gay’s direction, the story of 13 year old Mackenzie (Kimberley Hodgson), a minor character actor in “The Dahlia Show”, a Kids TV show (think variety shows like The All-New Mickey Mouse Club and sitcoms like Hannah Montana and Lizzie McGuire), unfolds when she and her fellow actor Beau (Ryan González) receive a prophecy from a mysterious hair and makeup artist, Pickle (Jane Watt) that Mackenzie will become a world famous pop superstar. Mackenzie’s mother Ruth (Nikki Britton) seizes on this news and ensures that her daughter gets the spotlight with a bit of dangerous sabotage.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s Scottish play, Dahlia(Anusha Thomas) doesn’t quite meet the terminal fate of Duncan, King of Scotland, but it’s enough to end a career that is centred on image. Like Lady Macbeth, ruthless Ruth is the mastermind behind the treachery, but dutiful hard working and wholesome head of catering Gayle (Billie Palin) is the one to see through the entitlement and arrogance of teen star in the manner of Macduff. Mackenzie’s on-set friend and one time co-star Beau is her Banquo, but like Banquo, Beau will return to ‘haunt’ her dreams when she screws him over to steal the spotlight for herself.

Prior to the show starting, the audience are told that, for the night, they are the studio audience at a taping of a television show, coached in the expected responses the producers want to hear on the sound track during the show. The thrust stage arrangement of the blackbox space of the Neilson Nutshell works well for this premise with set and Costume Designer Keerthi Subramanyam opting for a glitter flecked black stage with concert stage stairs and an enormous banner as the only permanent set piece. As with the source material that would have probably been presented with minimal set elements in the early 1600’s, Blake’s dialogue and Gay’s direction engages the audience’s imagination so that minimal set elements are wheeled in when necessary. Subramanyam’s work really stands out in the costuming choices that allow the cast to grow from wholesome 13-year-olds to 17-year-olds preparing to bridge the divide between teen idol and a more mature fan base.

As the core characters of Mackenzie and Ruth, Kimberley Hodgson and Nikki Britton play into the stereotypes. Britton is the quintessential pushy stage mother that is using her child to live out her own dreams. Enhanced by the bogun ‘uniform’ of velour tracksuit purchased a size too small, Britton ensures that Ruth is a grotesque expression which just increases once she’s manipulated Mackenzie into the spotlight. The equivalent of Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness is played out with the requisite rambling disorientation though, just as with the source material, any real gore is kept offstage.

As Mackenzie, Kimberley Hodgson ensures that the evolution from awkward 13-year-old happy to be on a show to 17 almost 18-year-old at the height of her fame and ‘power’ is clear. Gay has ensured that famous diva antics that have filled the tabloid press have informed Hodgson’s performance while adding a liberal dose of satire, from the obnoxious coffee orders to the ridiculous pets carried Paris Hilton style in a handbag. Through Blake’s text and Gay’s direction, Hodgson also ensures parallels to the exhaustion and desire for escape that young celebrities have also expressed is also clear.

Mackenzie | Bell Shakespeare

Photos: Brett Boardman

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/sydney/article/REVIEW-Yve-Blake-Gives-Shakespeares-Tragedy-Of-Macbeth-A-Contemporary-Teen-Treatment-With-MACKENZIE-20260614)._