William Shakespeare’s stories have been around for over 430 years. His poetry, comedies and tragedies are always such a delight to watch unfold, and yet when thinking about it, no two Shakespeare productions I’ve seen have ever been the same.
Everyone has their own interpretation of Shakespeare’s works. We’re lucky that Bell Shakespeare’s is great at their refreshing and unique takes on the renown storyteller’s tales, every time. Their latest is Yve Blake’s Mackenzie. Together with direction by Virginia Gay, we witness a retelling of Macbeth done in the most brilliant way possible.
Set in the 2000s, we follow child actress Mackenzie (clearly the Macbeth of this tale) who rises to frame, transitioning from ugly on-screen best friend to the generation’s it-girl. Playing the young starlet is none other than the ferociously talented Kimberley Hodgson who appears to balance the role of pure child star to career driven young adult with such expertise and ease. There could be no other that could ace such a complex role of Mackenzie with flying colours. Hodgson *is* Mackenzie.
Did I mention Hodgson has epic vocal chops too? While Mackenzie is a play, this is a play with songs, and man, are they catchy! The visuals and music are nostalgic and intentionally take you back to a time where Hilary Duff’s Lizzie McGuire, Miley Cyrus’ Hannah Montana, and Zac Efron’s undeniable lip-synching in the first High School Musical movie were our whole world (just to be clear, he does actually sing in the other two following movies, but whatever).
You don’t have to know the story of Macbeth to follow and enjoy Mackenzie, but it helps! As a Shakespeare fan, it was honestly a lot of fun picking out which modern roles in the show represented the original Macbeth characters. Like the geriatric hair and make-up artist Pickle, played fantastically by Jane Watt, being a representation of The Three Witches/Weird Sisters, Anusha Thomas makes a great ‘King Duncan’ as teen star Dahlia with her bright smile and perfect hair, the studio’s catering head Gayle (aced by Billie Palin) being the modern version of Macduff, Banquo, Macbeth’s best friend, being modernised as a young sweet Beau (think Zac Efron but better, Ryan Gonzalez slays), Mackenzie’s fellow struggling child star friend, longing for more roles in the spotlight.
Finally, Nikki Britton plays the designated role of Lady Macbeth, modernised as ruthless stage mum Ruth (character name is a little on the nose, I see what they did there), with bold ambition and iconic campness, right down to the side of the stage ‘You’re doing great sweetie’ Kris Jenner (of Keeping up with the Kardashians fame) video camera meme. You just had to be there! Britton’s Ruth is as terrifying as she is unhinged. Not only will I never look at Weet-Bix the same way again (or eat it), but I had also wondered how exactly this modern retelling would interpret the ‘blood on hands washing scene’, and hot damn, Yve Blake does not let you down.
The talent on and off-stage for Mackenzie is insane. Camp, dark and hilarious in all the right places, Mackenzie is a hell of a good time and a genius way of introducing the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to new audiences. It’s also an excellent study on the struggles of teen idols in the 2000s, and child stars in general. We’ve heard so many tales of child actors and singers being taken advantage of by their parents, and I couldn’t help but think of the difficulties and similarities of Miley Cyrus’ career from child star to sexy pop queen, or even the iconic Britney Spears and her whole, whole ordeal.
Mackenzie isn’t just a good time. As like with Yve Blake’s other work FANGIRLS, there’s always something deeper to think about of her storytelling and the topics she raises, long after you’ve left the theatre.
Run, don’t walk because this Melbourne season of Mackenzie will sell out.
Mackenzie is currently playing in Melbourne at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio until August 9th.
For more information and ticketing, visit:
https://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/mackenzie
https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2026/seasons/bell-shakespeare/mackenzie
Photography by Brett Boardman.
