Review Archive
John C Ross is a retired senior lecturer in English literature ex-Massey University, Palmerston North, and remains an honorary research fellow, writing stuff. Born in Wellington, he caught the theatre-going and amateur acting bug there, mainly while a student at Victoria University.
In 1965 he took a ship to England for one year’s OE, and came back eight years later to the Massey job. In the years in between he acquired a Ph D in English from Birkbeck College, University of London, studying Restoration comedy, and spent about four-and-a-half years as a literature tutor at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, Sidcup, Kent, plus plenty of travelling-around, tramping, and theatre-going.
Since 1974, John has directed or acted in quite a few plays with Massey Drama Society and Manawatu Theatre Society, and helped front-of-house during Centrepoint Theatre’s earlier years. He has written regular theatre reviews for Act Bulletin, the Sunday Times, the Dominion, the Dominion Post, and, now, Theatreview.
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR
Palmerston North
03/03/2016 - 12/03/2016
"Works well enough, in its fashion..
WIDOWS
Palmerston North
18/11/2015 - 21/11/2015
"Grim and very powerful..
BOYS AT THE BEACH
Palmerston North
07/11/2015 - 19/12/2015
"Kiwi feel to Boys at the Beach..
"Plenty of clever twists and funny incidents..
THE THINGS WE DO
Wellington, Hamilton, Auckland, Palmerston North, Waiheke Island
24/02/2015 - 01/11/2015
"Capable and promising..
"Fluid segues from common to surreal..
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UNHOLY GHOSTS
Palmerston North
19/09/2015 - 17/10/2015
"Cranky, bitchy, richly human ‘ghosts’..
LIVE ORGY
Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North
09/02/2015 - 10/09/2015
"Lively, funny, cleverly paced and makes you think..
"Entertains with purpose and delight..
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FRANKENSTEIN
Palmerston North
07/08/2015 - 29/08/2015
"Plenty of shocks and surprising twists..
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Palmerston North
09/07/2015 - 18/07/2015
"Another interesting production and interpretation..
MIDSUMMER (A Play With Songs)
Palmerston North
13/06/2015 - 11/07/2015
"Midsummer a wonderland..
"Wonderfully flexible, fluid and clever..
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GOLF: A Love Story
Palmerston North
18/04/2015 - 23/05/2015
"Genial company with wildly swinging moods..
KING LEAR
Palmerston North
05/03/2015 - 14/03/2015
"Clever and courageous..
BLACK FAGGOT
Wellington, Nelson, Edinburgh, Scotland, Melbourne, Australia, Palmerston North, Christchurch, Auckland, New Plymouth
16/02/2013 - 02/09/2015
"Powerful humanising of initially stock characters..
"Honest, raw, energetic, thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking..
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MUMS: THE WORD
Palmerston North
06/11/2014 - 15/11/2014
"Funny, touching, convincingly accurate..
THE PINK HAMMER
Palmerston North
01/11/2014 - 13/12/2014
"Good script, strong cast, impeccably directed..
HOKI MAI TAMA MĀ
Auckland, Whangarei, Palmerston North
03/07/2014 - 18/10/2014
"Warmly recommended..
"Much to admire, more work to be done..
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OTHELLO
Palmerston North
02/08/2014 - 09/08/2014
"Othello the Celt..
PRINCE SETH & THE PRINCESS – Pirate Adventure
Palmerston North
09/07/2014 - 12/07/2014
"Never a dull moment..
THE MERCY CLAUSE
Palmerston North
28/06/2014 - 26/07/2014
"Endlessly unsettling..
I COULD LIVE HERE
Palmerston North, Wellington
12/02/2014 - 14/06/2014
"Clever and feel good..
"Tensions hilariously depicted..
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ASIAN INVASION Plays from the Other Side of Aotearoa
Palmerston North, Hamilton, Wellington, New Zealand wide, Auckland
05/05/2014 - 04/07/2014
"Helping to grow more tolerance, kindness, and understanding..
"Borrow or steal a school uniform to gate crash a performance near you..
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KINGS OF THE GYM
Palmerston North
03/05/2014 - 14/06/2014
"A capable production of a clever play..
TAKE BACK THE HOOD
Wellington, Palmerston North, Dunedin, Auckland
06/03/2013 - 23/02/2015
"Back to the Hood..
"Funny and brave..
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THE WAR ARTIST
Palmerston North
14/03/2014 - 12/04/2014
"Compelling fitting tribute..
"Surprising depths..
