Review Archive
John Smythe has trained and worked professionally in New Zealand, Australia then back in New Zealand as a playwright, director, screenwriter (& screenwriting teacher), actor, theatre critic and book writer.
His formal qualifications include a Bachelor of Dramatic Art from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Sydney) and a Certificate in Screenwriting from the Australian Film Television and Radio School. He has also completed honours papers and a range of script writing courses.
Theatre directing credits in Australia include plays by Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Gorki, and world premieres of plays by himself, Len Radic, David Williamson, Louis Esson, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Jack Hibberd and David O’Brien. Back in NZ he directed his own trilogy of short plays – ENTRANCING EXITS: Ms Conception; Nothing Twisted; Used Heads, at Bats Theatre, Wellington International Festival of the Arts; Faulty (sic) Towers & Blackadder’s Banquet at the Museum Hotel.
Playwright credits include Entrancing Exits (BATS Theatre), Conundra (Ensemble Productions), Swaggy Mack and his Magic Back Track (Arena Theatre), The Seven Stages of Hugh Mann (Melbourne University Theatre), Party Games (Jane St Theatre; La Mama) and Making A Play (Melbourne Theatre Company; Central Theatre), Where There’s a Will (BATS Theatre). Unproduced plays include Thelma, Weather and The Virtues of Reality.
John has also written The Peace Monster (Vintage, 1991); Downstage Upfront: the first 40 years of New Zealand’s longest-running professional theatre (Victoria University Press, November 2004) and The Plays of Bruce Mason – a survey (VUP & Playmarket, November 2015).
Amid a wide range of acting roles on stage, television and film, John has played Polonius and the Gravedigger in Hamlet twice (2006 and 2011). In 2012 and with Arts On Tour NZ in 2013 he played James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Carl Jung in Jan Bolwell’s Dancing in the Wake. In 2015 he played Barry Scanlan in his own play, Where There’s a Will, at BATS Theatre. (Since 2000 he has also played Birdboot in an annual VUW English Dept reading of Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound.)
Before becoming the founding Managing Editor of Theatreview.org.nz in 2006, John was a theatre critic for The Melbourne Times, The Australian, Theatre Australia Magazine, The National Business Review.
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
IDEATION
Wellington
26/06/2019 - 06/07/2019
"It’s a wake-up call..
I AM MĀORI
Wellington
21/06/2019 - 23/06/2019
"A taonga, hei kākano puipuiaki (a precious seed) in so many ways..
DIGGING TO CAMBODIA
Wellington
13/06/2019 - 15/06/2019
"Elusive, allusive and constantly captivating..
FISHIN’ CHIP
Wellington
12/06/2019 - 15/06/2019
"Potentially packs a powerful punch..
THE WEEKEND
Wellington
11/06/2019 - 15/06/2019
"Engages our hearts and minds to the max..
CELLFISH
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Palmerston North, Gisborne
08/03/2017 - 15/10/2019
"A standout in a shimmering sea of wonderful presentations and productions..
"A superbly performed prison pas de deu..
More reviews
LOVE AND INFORMATION
Wellington
08/06/2019 - 20/06/2019
"A riveting journey through an insightful, thought-provoking and sometimes moving labyrinth of highly varied human interactions..
BOYS
Wellington
08/06/2019 - 16/06/2019
"A powerful interrogation of our nation’s state..
PAKARU
Wellington
04/06/2019 - 08/06/2019
"A riveting, powerful and intensely moving experience..
SHEL WE?
Wellington, Gisborne, Palmerston North, Hastings
12/12/2018 - 19/10/2020
"Gently woven story, precise and fluid dancing..
"Playful, poignant, ambiguous …..
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I AIN'T MAD AT CHA
Auckland, Wellington, Gisborne
20/06/2017 - 19/10/2019
"A completely stimulating theatrical experience..
"A very absorbing exploration..
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Public Service Announcements INDIGNITY WAR
Wellington
21/05/2019 - 25/05/2019
"Welcome robust political satire..
SO YOU THINK YOU KHANDALLAH
Wellington
21/05/2019 - 25/05/2019
"A sound foundation is laid..
Brynley Stent FILTHY LITTLE GOBLIN
Wellington
14/05/2019 - 18/05/2019
"A skill to be treasured..
Frickin Dangerous Bro LEGACY
Wellington
08/05/2019 - 11/05/2019
"Frickin' delightful, bro..
"Hugely entertaining satire..
THE KORU HOUR
Wellington
08/05/2019 - 11/05/2019
"Yet to reach its potential..
Tom Clarke PERRY
Wellington
07/05/2019 - 11/05/2019
"Disturbingly compelling..
White Man Behind a Desk A PARTY FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
Wellington
07/05/2019 - 11/05/2019
"An ingeniously provocative prod..
WAITING FOR GODOT
Wellington
04/05/2019 - 01/06/2019
"A play where nothing happens but everything is discussed..
"Riddled with vivid snapshots of the human condition..
CONVERSATIONS WITH DEAD RELATIVES
Nelson, Hamilton, Wellington
13/10/2018 - 11/05/2019
"An interesting journey through the past..
"A stimulating weave of familial threads..
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MoodPorn
Wellington
23/04/2019 - 04/05/2019
"Verbally and physically eloquent; utterly absorbing interactions..
PAPER SHAPER
Wellington
18/04/2017 - 17/04/2019
"Fanciful and inspiring..
"Captivating and heart-warming with environmental message..
THE CHILDREN
Wellington
30/03/2019 - 27/04/2019
"Plenty to ponder concerning personal, collective and global responsibility – and power..
