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.
KAPUT (AUS)
Christchurch, Wellington
18/03/2013 - 20/01/2019
"A classy piece of hullabaloo..
"Acrobatic, funny and good with his audience..
DUCK, DEATH AND THE TULIP
Wellington, Nelson, Tauranga, Edinburgh, Scotland, Christchurch, Auckland, Invercargill, Napier
18/03/2013 - 27/10/2018
"A theatrical gem for all ages..
"Delightful performance built on a serious fact of life..
More reviews
The Magic Chicken
Auckland, Wellington, Nelson
09/07/2012 - 16/03/2013
"Meticulously timed brilliance..
"Delicious clowning, miming and puppeteering..
More reviews
THE MAN THE SEA SAW
Wellington
11/03/2013 - 23/03/2013
"Clowning by numbers..
THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES
Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland, New Plymouth
09/03/2013 - 06/09/2015
"Uplifting, edifying, impressive..
"Gentle and meandering..
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MY BOYFRIEND GOT A BEATLE HAIRCUT
Wellington
09/03/2013 - 16/03/2013
"Insightful edification..
SKY DANCER
Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland
11/03/2013 - 14/11/2013
"Bold step not fully achieved..
"Fantastical, haunting, astounding..
More reviews
NEVERBEFORE: A Colony for Urban Change
Wellington
06/03/2013 - 09/03/2013
"Promising ‘play’ loses its way..
STAND UP FOR CHARLIE
Wellington
05/03/2013 - 09/03/2013
"Stylistic mash-up subverts potential..
DUSKY MAIDENS AND NOBLE SAVAGES
Wellington, Porirua
05/03/2013 - 08/03/2013
"Sharing equal space..
‘BEEP TEST*
Wellington
04/02/2013 - 09/03/2013
"Testing times..
DEFINITION OF ME
Wellington
04/03/2013 - 09/03/2013
"Subtly employed creative flair produces a gem..
TALKING OF KATHERINE MANSFIELD
Whangarei, Wellington, Auckland, Nelson
27/02/2013 - 25/10/2013
"An absolute pleasure..
"So magical and forceful..
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THIN SKIN
Wellington
25/02/2013 - 28/02/2013
"Chaos and confusion in private play..
FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW
Wellington
23/02/2013 - 27/02/2013
"Fun with strange characters..
YOU CAN ALWAYS HAND THEM BACK
Wellington
23/02/2013 - 30/03/2013
"Mellifluous, articulate and perfectly pleasant..
RESIDENCE
Wellington
22/02/2013 - 03/03/2013
"An odd mixture..
ALEXANDER SPARROW: Narcissistic Diva
Wellington
22/02/2013 - 23/02/2013
"Amusingly self-effacing..
Madam X and Mister Q
Wellington
21/02/2013 - 02/03/2013
"‘Make what you like of it’ mode makes for dispassionate observation..
HOME / The Hilarious Comedy About How I Nearly Killed Myself / A Play About How I Nearly Died But Didn't Then Learned A Lot About Life Afterward
Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington, Hamilton, Palmerston North
20/02/2013 - 22/08/2015
"Seriously gutsy..
"Massively admirable guts and grace..
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RAGEFACE
Wellington
19/02/2013 - 23/02/2013
"Cyberspace v the real world..
AFFINITY
Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North
17/02/2013 - 16/08/2014
"A tight, perceptive allegory..
"Cleverly constructed journey of discovery never less than involving..
More reviews
THE PENIS MONOLOGUES
Wellington
16/02/2013 - 09/03/2013
"Despite its length I don’t feel much at all..
