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.
Rita and Douglas
Queenstown, Wellington, Tauranga, Dunedin, Wanaka, Auckland, Nelson
12/04/2011 - 12/04/2014
"Poignant and elegantly told..
"Deeply insightful..
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THIS RUGGED BEAUTY
Wellington
25/03/2014 - 05/04/2014
"The quest for authenticity and integrity..
GLORIA’S HANDBAG
Nelson, Wellington, Invercargill
22/03/2014 - 11/05/2017
"A gorgeous little gem of a play..
"Powerhouse performance brings pleasure and pathos..
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20 NEW ZEALAND PLAYWRIGHTS
Global
01/01/2014 - 31/12/2014
"The chroniclers, conscience, predictors, pretention-prickers and imagineers of our times..
BLACK ROMEDY
Wellington
18/03/2014 - 22/03/2014
"Much to recommend it as a showcase and testing ground for emerging talent..
AN ILIAD
Wellington
12/03/2014 - 14/03/2014
"Brings an unwelcome truth home..
"War’s horrors recited..
ONCE WE BUILT A TOWER
Dunedin, Wellington
11/03/2014 - 02/09/2014
"Rare to be so engaged and swept up in idealism for an entire performance..
"Warm, engaging tribute to a forgotten hero..
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MY STORIES YOUR EMAILS
Wellington
08/03/2014 - 15/03/2014
"Cryptic stories but who is the real Martinez?..
"To: ursula@ursulamartinez.com..
TOM CREAN – ANTARCTIC EXPLORER
Wellington
06/03/2014 - 09/03/2014
"Mischievous wit and wry perceptions..
SKINDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST HARLOT
Wellington
05/03/2014 - 08/03/2014
"G-strings, fishnet stockings and perky pasties served with satirical wit..
3 x 20
Wellington
04/03/2014 - 08/03/2014
"A rather unsatisfying hour..
NOT IN OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
Wellington, Auckland, Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Palmerston North
01/03/2014 - 24/06/2017
"Devastating yet wanted more..
"The importance of this work cannot be overstated..
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BIRDS
Auckland, Wellington
17/09/2013 - 08/03/2014
"Telling it like it is..
"Flight over fancy..
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tut
Wellington
26/02/2014 - 02/03/2014
"Whimsical response to eternal question..
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (As You Like It)
Wellington
27/02/2014 - 02/03/2014
"Inspired monumental trivia..
"Don’t miss this delectably funny Dream..
PANIORA!
Auckland, Wellington
26/02/2014 - 12/04/2014
"Impressively woven fusion yet to achieve cohesion..
"Play punctuated with colour, movement and class..
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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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MISS BRONTË
Wellington
21/02/2014 - 15/03/2014
"Perceptive, intelligent, fiery, romantic and poignant..
"Powerful performance, skilfully directed..
PASEFIKA
Wellington
22/02/2014 - 29/03/2014
"Baudelaire discovers Polynesian identity..
"A highly stimulating imaging..
SUDDENLY SHAKESPEARE
Wellington
15/02/2014 - 01/03/2014
"No method in this madness..
NEEDLES AND OPIUM
Wellington
21/02/2014 - 24/02/2014
"Absorbing stories and theatrical magic..
"Hi-tech production delivers the goods..
MIS{S} CONCEPTION
Wellington
20/02/2014 - 22/02/2014
"MIS{S} CONCEPTION..
DINNER WITH IZZY & SIMON
Wellington
17/02/2014 - 02/03/2014
"Memorably experiential..
