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.
ON THE CONDITIONS AND POSSIBILITIES OF HILLARY CLINTON TAKING ME AS HER YOUNG LOVER
Hamilton, Auckland, NYC, USA, Takaka, Nelson, Havelock North, Wellington, Edinburgh, Scotland, Dunedin
16/02/2015 - 08/10/2016
"The real presidential debate..
"Top-notch satire ★★★★★..
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AT THE END OF MY HANDS
Hamilton, Wellington, Auckland
01/05/2015 - 30/01/2016
"Sharing our need for human connection, communication, each other..
"Treat yourself to insightful entertainment..
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SPRING AWAKENING
Wellington
27/01/2016 - 06/02/2016
"Pared-down Awakening still has modern relevance..
"A refreshing, insightful and compelling distillation..
DOG & BONE
Wellington
21/01/2016 - 31/01/2016
"Eloquent and insightful: a richly wrought weave..
"A play of grand and operatic proportions..
PLANET REWIND
Wellington
19/01/2016 - 23/01/2016
"A frustrating and ultimately futile exercise..
A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES and other memories of childhood
Wellington
28/11/2015 - 20/12/2015
"A delightful Christmas tale..
"The enduring pleasure of being read to..
Roger Hall’s ROBIN HOOD The Pantomime 2015
Wellington
21/11/2015 - 22/12/2015
"The more things change …..
PAPER CHAINS AND BLACK HOLES
Wellington
19/11/2015 - 21/11/2015
"Rigorous interrogation required?..
Be | Longing: a verbatim play
Global, Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington
22/02/2012 - 31/05/2020
"Fascinating and poignant stories..
"Universality in every detail..
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THE F WORD
Wellington, Christchurch
07/10/2014 - 14/11/2015
"Theatre-in-education for adults..
"A classy and spirited critique..
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THE KEYS ARE IN THE MARGARINE: a verbatim play about dementia
Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington
19/06/2014 - 14/11/2015
"Touching look at life with dementia..
"Deeply absorbing..
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CALL ME BUKOWSKI
Wellington
10/11/2015 - 14/11/2015
"Captures the zeitgeist with flair..
ALL OUR SONS
Wellington
06/11/2015 - 14/11/2015
"Recognising our fundamental humanity..
"Many moments to savour..
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SHORT+SWEET Festival Wellington
Wellington
04/11/2015 - 07/11/2015
"Should become an annual highlight in Wellington..
A COLLECTION OF NOISES
Wellington
03/11/2015 - 07/11/2015
"Compelling and somewhat unnerving..
DEAD MEN’S WARS
Wellington
22/10/2015 - 31/10/2015
"Ensemble makes Wars a tale worth watching..
"Elusive theme undermines it..
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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BUBBLELANDS
Wellington, Auckland
25/08/2015 - 17/10/2015
"Adrift on the outside looking in..
"Theatrical titbit yet to satisfy..
BOOYA: Blow it Out Your Ahem
Wellington
08/10/2015 - 08/10/2015
"Flotsam and jetsam in a tide of movement..
THE ROYAL EQUINOX ADVENTURE CRUISE
Wellington
06/10/2015 - 06/10/2015
"Lost in complexity..
National Shakespeare Schools Production 2015
Wellington
03/10/2015 - 04/10/2015
"A formative and valuable experience..
ANIMAL FARM
Wellington
30/09/2015 - 10/10/2015
"Could be worth a visit..
HIRAETH
Nelson, Tauranga, New Plymouth, Auckland, Wellington, Wairarapa, Christchurch, Wanaka
19/09/2015 - 07/11/2015
"Feel-good theatre..
"We are the river..
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