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.
THE WELL-REHEARSED AND NOT AT ALL SLAPDASH STORY OF PETE BENNETT
Wellington
21/03/2019 - 23/03/2019
"The ‘work-in-progress’ feel captures Pete’s life with chaotic flair..
SHADOW
Wellington
20/03/2019 - 23/03/2019
"A contribution towards “positive societal attitudinal change”..
CARTOONAROONY
Wellington
19/03/2019 - 22/03/2019
"A riotous exploration with potential..
WATCHING PAINT DRY
Hamilton, Dunedin, Wellington
26/10/2017 - 27/09/2108
"Physically interesting, metaphysically flightless..
"Proverbial pastime by no means boring..
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THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY
Nelson, Wellington
05/03/2019 - 20/03/2019
"An inspired rebuttal of anarchism that also satirises law an order..
"Concentration pays off..
KŌTUKU AND THE MOON CHILD
Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin
15/09/2018 - 31/03/2019
"Empathy and compassion..
"Two puppeteer performers create an entrancing experience..
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BOTTLED
Wellington
16/03/2019 - 18/03/2019
"Prematurely bottled?..
ONLY BONES 1.0
Edinburgh, Scotland, Wellington, Kerikeri
07/08/2016 - 04/04/2019
"Astonishing physicality — no bones about it..
"Jaw-dropping, eye-opening entertainment..
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GARRY STARR PERFORMS EVERYTHING (AUS)
Christchurch, Wellington
11/01/2019 - 15/03/2019
"A highly skilled comedic performer..
"A master of theatre, comedy, acting – and circus!..
FERRIS WHEEL
Wellington
10/02/2017 - 23/03/2019
"Feels like a quite promising rehearsal..
"Essentially delightful energy, alertness, and vulnerability..
TROLL
Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch, Gisborne
12/02/2017 - 04/10/2020
"A captivating old fashioned, modern fairytale..
"A near-perfect little nugget of mythic storytelling..
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SWAMP JUICE
Wellington
09/03/2019 - 16/03/2019
"Shriekingly delightful..
IMPOSTER CHILD
Wellington
07/03/2019 - 11/03/2019
"An excellent comic sensibility..
STACK THAT BASS
Wellington
06/03/2019 - 07/03/2019
"Infectious pleasure in exploring skills..
I NEVER THOUGHT I'D HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT ALL
Wellington
05/03/2019 - 09/03/2019
"Succeeds as a showcase..
BLONDE MOUNTAIN WOLF MAN
Wellington, Palmerston North
06/10/2018 - 05/03/2019
"A fascinating historical plot dug over with ingenuity..
"Funny and engaging..
A NEW MAN
Wellington
01/03/2019 - 03/03/2019
"A long way short of meeting its objective..
ONCE THERE WAS A WOMAN
Auckland, Wellington
28/02/2017 - 02/03/2019
"Celebrating our shared humanity..
"Recalled with levity, warmth, dismay, resignation, fear, disorientation c..
MELANCHOLY PLAY
Wellington
27/02/2019 - 09/03/2019
"The pleasure of melancholy v the horror of happiness beautifully explored..
FULL SCALE
Wellington
26/02/2019 - 02/03/2019
"Daughter/ mother relationship navigated with creative ingenuity..
HAMLET
Wellington
15/02/2019 - 02/03/2019
"Verbally and physically crisp, clear and dynamically-paced..
CAPTAIN COOK THINKS AGAIN
Wellington
13/02/2019 - 24/02/2019
"Gets all of us looking at things anew..
THINKING DOLPHINS
Wellington
12/02/2019 - 16/02/2019
"One man’s life-changing encounter delightfully dramatised..
