Sally McKenzie (born SarahState of New South Wales birth certificate number 4339/1955 8 February 1955) also credited as Sally MacKenzie, is an Australian actress, director, playwright and screenwriter. She graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1977. She was awarded a Master of Fine Arts from the Queensland University of Technology in 1996.
Early life and education Sally May McKenzie was born on 8 February 1955 in Lindfield a suburb of Sydney. McKenzie grew up in South Australia. From the age of 11 she took drama classes run by Morna Jones who established the Patch Theatre. During her teenage years McKenzie performed with the Pioneer Players, the Arts Theatre, Theatre 62 and the Bunyip Children's Theatre. She began an arts degree at Flinders University but only completed 2 years before moving to Sydney to study acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).
Career McKenzie graduated from NIDA in 1977. In 1978 McKenzie performed under the direction of Peter Schumann with the Bread & Puppet Theater at the Adelaide Festival and understudied all the female roles for the Queensland Theatre Company (QTC) touring production of King Lear in which Warren Mitchell played Lear and Geoffrey Rush played the Fool. In 1979 she was part of the Early Childhood Drama Project the professional arm at La Boite Theatre Company where she performed in numerous productions including The Hills Family Show.
In 1980 McKenzie was a member of the TN! Theatre Company inaugural ensemble performing Jenny Diver in The Threepenny Opera under the baton of Georg Tintner. In 1981 she played Lavinia Mannon in Mourning Becomes Electra for QTC a role she reprised for the Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) directed by Michael Blakemore.
Several productions with MTC followed including the title role in The Good Person of Szechwan by Bertolt Brecht and the role of Beatrice-Joanna in The Changeling under the direction of John Sumner. She performed in the Australian premiere of Top Girls by Caryl Churchill with the Nimrod Theatre Company in Sydney. During this time under the direction of Bud Tingwell, McKenzie played Lynn in a 2-hour 500th special episode of Cop Shop for which she won a 1983 Penguin Award for Best Single Performance by an Actress in a Serial.
In 1985 McKenzie played the role of Lady Macbeth for the QTC. She appeared in 20 productions for this company including several premiere productions of plays by David Williamson under the direction of Aubrey Mellor. McKenzie returned to study in 1995 and was awarded a Master of Fine Arts in 1996.
As a playwright McKenzie's plays include Scattered Lives, Martha's War on War, i dot luv dot u☺ and WAY. A review of WAY in Stage Whispers said: "Sally McKenzie grips the audience's attention for a complex seventy-five minutes with an astonishing sustained theatre performance. If you love theatre, see this".
As a screenwriter and director works include documentary Actingclassof1977.com which looks at actor training in Australia in the late 1970s. The film features Steve Bisley, Mel Gibson and Debra Lawrance and first aired on the ABC in June 2008. McKenzie won an Australian Writers' Guild AWGIE Award for Best Documentary Public Broadcast in 2014.
In 2018 McKenzie was awarded a Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts Fellowship Medal for her research and subsequent paper 'Developing Australian Playwrights and their Plays'. For this paper she interviewed writers for both screen and stage living in the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom. The interviewees included Tony Kushner, Christopher Hampton, David Henry Hwang, Mike Leigh, Robert Lepage, David Lindsay-Abaire, Hannah Moscovitch, Judith Thompson and Enda Walsh.
Filmography
Film Title Year Role Type Cathy's Child 1979 Young Nun Feature film We of the Never Never 1982 Carrie Feature film Undercover 1983 Shop Assistant Feature film The Schippan Mystery 1984 Mary Schippan TV film Tripe 1985 Aunt Esme Short film Sharkey's Party 1986 Penny Short film With Love to the Person Next to Me 1987 Gail Feature film The Lonely Ones 1988 Mother Short film Redheads 1994 Warden Zelda Feature film Mermaids 2003 Georgia TV film Sniffer 2003 Aunt Magda Short film The Diamond Cutter 2003 Zelma (voice) TV film Actingclassof1977.com 2008 Herself TV film Storage 2009 Carol Feature film Jucy 2010 Ros Feature film The Day After Today 2014 Angela Short filmMopoke Lake EnigmaTBALornaFeature film
Television Title Year Role Type Cop Shop 1983 Lynn TV series, 2 hour special Carson's Law 1983-84 Emily Forrest TV series Special Squad 1984 Rosetta TV series Mother and Son 1985 Sergeant Watts TV series Prisoner 1986 Roo Morgan TV series Rafferty's Rules 1987 Constable Prior TV series A Country Practice 1988 Phyllis Greenway TV series The Leaving of Liverpool 1993 Official Woman TV series The Flying Doctors 1995 Patsy Goldfisch TV series Fire 1995 Fai Alicis TV series The Wayne Manifesto 1996-97 Ms Cunningham TV series Fat Cow Motel 2003 Eleanor Rigby TV miniseries Mortified 2006-07 Mystic Marj TV series Reef Doctors 2013 Gracie TV series Harrow 2019 Beverly McIntyre TV series Fires 2021 Dell TV series Apple Cider Vinegar2025AmyTV series
Theatre
Year Play Writer(s) Role Notes1976As You Like ItWilliam ShakespeareRosalindPerformed at NIDA with Steve Bisley1976Miss Hook of HollandAusten Hurgon, Paul RubensChorusPerformed at NIDA Director Aubrey Mellor1977 Mother and Son Louis Esson Mrs. Lind Performed at NIDA With Mel Gibson 1977 The Hostage Brendan Behan Kate/Meg Performed at NIDA Shared role with Judy Davis1977 Once in a Lifetime George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart Various Performed at NIDA Director Richard Wherrett1978 Bread & Puppet Theater Group Devised Ensemble Adelaide Festival Director Peter Schumann1978 Razzle, Dazzle Group Devised Various The Actors' Company. Director Steve Agnew1979 Visions Louis Nowra Madame Lynch La Boite Theatre Company Director John Milson1979 The Hills Family Show Australian Performing Group Alexandra Hills La Boite Theatre Company Director Richard Fotheringham1979 They Shoot Horses, Don't They? Horace McCoy Gloria Beatty La Boite Theatre Company Director David Bell1980 The Threepenny Opera Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill Jenny Diver TN! Theatre Company Director John Milson1980 The Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde Gwendolen Fairfax TN! Theatre Company Director John Milson1980 Summit Conference Robert David MacDonald Eva Braun TN! Theatre Company Director John Milson1980 Mourning Becomes Electra Eugene O'Neill Lavinia Mannon Queensland Theatre Company Director Robin Lovejoy1980 Happy End Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill Lillian Holiday Q Theatre. Director Doreen Warburton1981 Mourning Becomes Electra Part One Eugene O'Neill Lavinia Mannon Melbourne Theatre Company Director Michael Blakemore1981 Mourning Becomes Electra Part Two Eugene O'Neill Lavinia Mannon Melbourne Theatre Company Director Michael Blakemore1981 The Good Person of Szechwan Bertolt Brecht Shen Te Melbourne Theatre Company Director Bruce Myles1981 The London Cuckolds Edward Ravenscroft Peggy Melbourne Theatre Company Director Simon Chilvers1981 Amadeus Peter Shaffer Constanze Weber Melbourne Theatre Company Director John Sumner1981 A Cuckoo in the Nest Ben Travers Marguerite Hickett Melbourne Theatre Company Director Simon Chilvers1982 The Changeling Thomas Middleton, William Rowley Beatrice-Joanna Melbourne Theatre Company Director John Sumner1982 Vocations Alma De Groen Vicki Melbourne Theatre Company Director Graeme Blundell1983 The Fields of Heaven Dorothy Hewett Lucia Silvieri Sydney Theatre Company Director Rodney Fisher1983 Top Girls Caryl Churchill Dulle Gret/Angie Nimrod Theatre Company Director Chris Johnson1984 A Toast to Melba Jack Hibberd Ensemble Nimrod Theatre Company Director John Milson1985 Macbeth William Shakespeare Lady Macbeth Queensland Theatre Company Director Gregory Gesch1987HamletWilliam ShakespeareGertrudePhillip St Theatre Director Beverly Blankenship1987 Glory Steve J. Spears Glory Griffin Theatre Company Director Ray Goodlass1988 The Sentimental Bloke C. J. Dennis, Graeme Blundell Rose Queensland Theatre Company Director Gregory Gesch1988 Les Liaisons Dangereuses Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Christopher Hampton Émilie Queensland Theatre Company Director Alan Edwards1988 Night and Day Tom Stoppard Ruth Carson Queensland Theatre Company Director Gregory Gesch1988 Beach Blanket Tempest Denis Watkins, Chris Harriott Regine TN! Theatre Company Director Sean Mee1989 The Man from Mukinupin Dorothy Hewett Clemmy Hummer Queensland Theatre Company Director Aubrey Mellor1990 SherWoodstock Various Mother Hood Satirical music theatre. Director Sean Mee1990 Top Silk David Williamson Jane Fredericks Queensland Theatre Company Director Aubrey Mellor1990 The Ring Cycle Richard Wagner, David Bell Frika Queensland Performing Arts Centre Director David Bell1991 Phantoad of the Opera Various Ginger Satirical music theatre. Director Sean Mee1991 Seven Little Australians Ethel Turner, David Reeves Martha/Miss Jolly Queensland Theatre Company Director Alan Edwards1991 Burn This Lanford Wilson Anna La Boite Theatre Company Director Jennifer Flowers1991 Money and Friends David Williamson Vicki Calabresi Queensland Theatre Company Director Aubrey Mellor1992 Money and Friends David Williamson Vicki Calabresi Sydney Theatre Company 1992 Money and Friends David Williamson Vicki Calabresi Melbourne Theatre Company 1992 Money and Friends David Williamson Vicki Calabresi State Theatre Company of South Australia 1992 Fuenteovejuna Lope de Vega Ensemble Melbourne International Arts Festival Director Aubrey Mellor1993 Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare Lady Capulet Queensland Theatre Company Director Aubrey Mellor1993 Diving for Pearls Katherine Thomson Marg Queensland Theatre Company Director David Berthold1994 Dancing at Lughnasa Brian Friel Maggie Queensland Theatre Company Director Jennifer Flowers1994 The Servant of Two Masters Carlo Goldoni Ensemble Queensland Performing Arts Centre Director Steven Gration1994 Happy Birthday Tim Sally McKenzie Mum Queensland Performing Arts Centre Director Sean Mee1997 After the Ball David Williamson Maureen Queensland Theatre Company Director Robyn Nevin1997 After the Ball David Williamson Maureen Theatre Royal, Hobart, Arts Centre Melbourne2000 Top Dogs Urs Widmer Penelope McDonald Queensland Theatre Company Director Jennifer Flowers2002 Salt Peta Murray Meg La Boite Theatre Company Director Michael Futcher2003 A Conversation David Williamson Barbara Milson Queensland Theatre Company Director Jean-Marc Russ2004 The Cherry Orchard Anton Chekhov Lyubov Ranevskaya Queensland Theatre Company Director Michael Gow2004 Amigos David Williamson Hilary La Boite Theatre Company Director Sean Mee2005 The Memory of Water Shelagh Stephenson Vi Queensland Theatre Company Director Leticia Cáceres2007 Red Cap Janis Balodis, Iain Grandage Ensemble La Boite Theatre Company Director Sean Mee2007 The Wishing Well Helen Howard, Michael Futcher Ensemble La Boite Theatre Company Director Michael Futcher2009 The School of Arts Bille Brown Gwen Frawley Queensland Theatre Company Playhouse Theatre, Brisbane. Director Michael Gow2009 The School of Arts Bille Brown Gwen Frawley Pilbeam Theatre, Rockhampton2012 A Hoax Rick Viede Ronnie La Boite Theatre Company, Griffin Theatre Company Director Lee Lewis2022 Betty Jules Allen Rose Theatre Works Director Iain Sinclair 2023 Way Sally McKenzie Lily, Lynne, Maysie, Zahra La Mama Theatre (Melbourne) Director Sean Mee2024WaySally McKenzieLily, Lynne, Maysie, Zahrafortyfivedownstairs Director Sean Mee
Awards +YearWorkAwardResult1983Cop ShopPenguin Award Best Single Performance by an Actress in a Serial2014A Woman's Journey into SexAustralian Writers' Guild AWGIE Award Best Documentary Public Broadcast
References
External links
Sally McKenzie at IMDb.