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.
LIKE SEX
Wellington
15/07/2016 - 30/07/2016
"Festival allows young casts to shine #2..
"Every scene is a gem refracting a truth..
BLOODY HELL JESUS (GET YOUR OWN FRIENDS)
Wellington
15/07/2016 - 30/07/2016
"Festival allows young casts to shine #1..
"A welcome reflection-cum-insight..
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM
Wellington
13/07/2016 - 23/07/2016
"A clever and innovative pared-down version..
"Delivered with a light and fluent touch..
GRIMM BEDTIME STORIES
Wellington
09/05/2015 - 23/07/2016
"Intelligently entertaining..
"Young audience delighted..
THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT
Wellington
09/07/2016 - 23/07/2016
"The kids enjoy themselves..
DUST PILGRIM – A Tale of Freedom
Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington, Invercargill
04/06/2015 - 03/05/2018
"An audio-visual treat that respects the intelligence of its audience..
"Dusty yes, but fresh and original..
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STAGE KISS
Wellington
02/07/2016 - 30/07/2016
"Skilled writing makes up for slight premise..
"A production of two halves..
MILKY BITS
Auckland, Wellington
14/06/2016 - 02/07/2016
"A highly entertaining and therapeutic gift..
"Original and innovative..
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LA CASA AZUL
Wellington
25/06/2016 - 23/07/2016
"Captured beautifully..
"A rich vicarious experience..
THE POLITICIAN’S WIFE
Wellington, Palmerston North
15/06/2016 - 02/07/2016
"Illuminates, interrogates and challenges..
"All encompassing..
LA VIE DANS UNE MARIONETTE
Auckland, Havelock North, Wellington
28/02/2013 - 25/03/2017
"Impeccable timing, grace and skill..
"Exhilaratingly funny, sad and heart-warming..
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DYING FOR IT
Wellington
15/06/2016 - 22/06/2016
"Satirical insights all too relevant..
HOTEL EUROPA
Wellington
15/06/2016 - 22/06/2016
"Memorable performances and production values..
TIKI TOUR
Wellington
14/06/2016 - 18/06/2016
"Timeless yet timely character comedy..
SHOT BRO – Confessions of a Depressed Bullet
Auckland, Wellington, Tauranga, Kaikohe, Wairarapa, Dunedin, Invercargill
09/06/2016 - 09/05/2019
"Confronting and hard but also a safe space in which to explore the ugly realities of mental health..
"Funny, powerful, demanding..
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THE VULTURES
Wellington
08/06/2016 - 18/06/2016
"Powerful piece of theatre pulls out all the stops..
"Stylishly entertaining and thought-provoking..
VERSIONS OF ALLAH
Wellington
07/06/2016 - 11/06/2016
"Original and innovatively staged..
"Deceptively simple, profoundly engaging..
MY SHOUT: Another Round at the Thistle Inn
Wellington
29/05/2016 - 31/05/2016
"Highly committed, fully focused cast, astutely modulated..
MY DAD'S BOY
Wellington
26/05/2016 - 04/06/2016
"Insightful distillation..
THE ELEPHANT THIEF
Hamilton, Nelson, Wellington, New Plymouth, Auckland
05/12/2015 - 02/07/2016
"Stealing the Show..
"Immensely talented cast but play feels lost and confused..
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Public Service Announcements (PSA) CIVIL WAR
Wellington
10/05/2016 - 14/05/2016
"Equal-opportunity ridicule..
POWERPLAYS: everyday underdogs trying to win at life
Porirua, Wellington
02/05/2016 - 06/05/2016
"Creative and skilful navigation of a range of roles, settings and situations..
"Strengths lie in the way it poses questions, rather than instructions or answers..
PROMISE AND PROMISCUITY: A New Musical by Jane Austen & Penny Ashton
Whangarei, Dunedin, Auckland, Edinburgh, Scotland, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, Greytown, Hamilton
27/02/2013 - 29/11/2020
"Multi-talented performer has audience laughing in minutes..
"Winning formula leaves audiences smiling..
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