A Melbourne theatre review by Alex First
A delicious, nightmarish hoot, Mackenzie asks what price child fame?
She says the idea for the show came to her like a fever dream.
It is about the dark side of child stardom, led to the well by a ruthlessly ambitious stage mum.
A timid 13-year-old named Mackenzie (Kimberley Hodgson), complete with a hideous bowl cut hairdo, is the only one to master the correct dance moves on a highly popular children’s television show.
She has been practising since she was only three.
While Mackenzie and her closest friend on set, Beau (Ryan González), swap admiration for one another, the boss leans heavily on the show’s severely stressed producer (Jane Watt) to find a solution.
It is then that Mackenzie and Beau encounter a weird but visionary fill-in hair and make-up artist, Pickle (Jane Watt).
Mackenzie’s mother, Ruth (Nikki Britton) conspires to see that prediction realised with an act of extreme wickedness that Mackenzie is all but forced to buy into.
Five years later, Mackenzie has transformed into a bona fide star, with a series of brand partnerships, her own beauty line and callous disregard for everyone else, including her mother.
Among those whom she treats poorly is the chef at the TV station, Gayle (Billie Palin), who goes out of her way to ensure she caters to Mackenzie’s requirements.
The young prima donna’s comeuppance is surely just a matter of time.
They have done a masterful job. One-liners come thick and fast.
Kimberley Hodgson transitions beautifully from respectable to reprehensible.
Billie Palin is positively fearsome as the network head and conciliatory as the chef.
Nikki Britton revels as the pushy mother from hell.
Before the show starts, there is little to see other than a set of stairs, but set and costume designer Keerthi Subramanyam introduces a series of props that pop.
From the get-go, sound – natural and musical – plays a critically important role in the production. Sound designer Tom Lowndes choices are transformative.
I also appreciated Elle Evangelista’s dynamic choreography.
Bell Shakespeare Company’s Mackenzie is on at Fairfax Studio, Arts Centre Melbourne until 9th August, 2026.