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.
ALONE IT STANDS
Wellington
19/08/2015 - 05/09/2015
"Committed ensemble tells a salutary tale..
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..
More reviews
CLEANSKIN
Wellington
04/08/2015 - 08/08/2015
"Reality resisted makes for absorbing theatre..
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
Wellington
25/07/2015 - 29/08/2015
"A climax to savour in brilliantly staged funny show..
"Do we not aspire to more than a ride on a bandwagon?..
PAGE TURNERS
Wellington
25/07/2015 - 06/03/2016
"Stunning performances of enchanting words from multi-layered pages..
"A priceless theatrical taonga..
THE UGLY ONE
Wellington
11/07/2015 - 08/08/2015
"A minimalist beauty..
"Taut telling and quality acting..
STEALING GAMES
Wellington
11/07/2015 - 17/07/2015
"Stimulating at every level..
THE 21ST NARCISSUS
Wellington
10/07/2015 - 25/07/2015
"Comedies with tragic undertones..
"Lost in cyberspace dodging debris..
THE FIRST 7500 DAYS OF MY LIFE
Wellington
10/07/2015 - 25/07/2015
"Comedies with tragic undertones..
"Intriguing ontological study..
HOW TO CATCH A GRIM REAPER
Wellington
10/07/2015 - 25/07/2015
"Comedies with tragic undertones..
"A pleasure to suspend disbelief and engage..
YOURS TRULY… A Jack the Ripper Story
Wellington
08/07/2015 - 18/07/2015
"A riveting take on who did what to whom and why..
THE SWORD IN THE STONE
Wellington
07/07/2015 - 18/07/2015
"Uninspired..
"A magic-free zone..
THE ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER
Wellington
04/07/2015 - 18/07/2015
"A school holiday treat..
"Interactive fun with good values..
the beautiful ones
Wellington
27/06/2015 - 11/07/2015
"Unique and innovative mash-up of genres..
"Formidable talent in search of a theme-rich story..
NGĀ POU WAHINE
Wellington, Auckland, Whangarei,
24/06/2015 - 10/07/2015
"Poetic, appealing and perfectly pitched..
"Prominent Wahine..
More reviews
LONG AGO, LONG AGO
Wellington
23/06/2015 - 27/06/2015
"A true human experience of fantasy and reality made real through subtle artistry..
"Lyrical, poetic, hard-hitting and emotional..
AN EVENING WITH THE MODERN MĀORI QUARTET
Auckland, Havelock North, Wellington, Invercargill
18/06/2015 - 27/04/2016
"Amazing voices and great harmonies..
"A time machine to the good ol’ days..
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DOUBLE DERELICTS
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Havelock North, Palmerston North
13/12/2013 - 08/10/2016
"Splendid value..
"No fourth wall in this show..
More reviews
WOYZECK and PAINS OF YOUTH
Wellington
13/06/2015 - 23/06/2015
"Dynamically dramatic..
2080
Wellington
16/06/2015 - 20/06/2015
"A well-wrought microcosm..
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
Wellington
10/06/2015 - 20/06/2015
"Brought to life with great gusto..
"Easily digestible but thought-provoking..
TURNING PAGE
Wellington
07/06/2015 - 19/06/2015
"Two characters in search of a playwright..
EDGE
Wellington
06/06/2015 - 20/06/2015
"Impossible not to be drawn in..
