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.
Johanna Cosgrove – Hi, Delusion!
Wellington
23/05/2023 - 27/05/2023
"Comedy of truth about delusion deserves a long life..
Barnie Duncan – Just Jolks
Wellington
23/05/2023 - 27/05/2023
"Enough said. You have to be there...
James Nokise – Right About Now
Wellington
16/05/2023 - 20/05/2023
"A superb show that uses comedy to explore a timeless human flaw and bring it home to now..
Nick Rado – Radology
Wellington
16/05/2023 - 20/05/2023
"Heritage, health and generational humour plus ‘the perfect joke’..
Melanie Bracewell – Forget Me Not
Wellington
13/05/2023 - 13/05/2023
"Presented with a delightful ease that belies the exquisite crafting of her thematically aligned comedic commentary..
Sanjay Parbhu – Dope-Amine
Wellington
10/05/2023 - 12/05/2023
"Clever premise and good stories could deliver more on the promise..
Kura Forrester – Here If You Need
Wellington
09/05/2023 - 13/05/2023
"Outrageous hilarity and a touch of poignance bring meaning to the cryptic title..
Abby Howells – La Soupco
Wellington, Hamilton
09/03/2023 - 25/02/2024
"Full of originality, disarming honesty and fanciful narrative..
"A lively and insightful ride, bouncing between two states of being..
WONDERKIND
Wellington
09/07/2022 - 05/05/2023
"Epic creative explorations – so much experienced in so little time!..
"Humour, surprises, artistic creativity and the joy of playful friendship..
More reviews
Taku Waimarie
Wellington
02/05/2023 - 05/05/2023
"Thoroughly enjoyable discovery of the value of cultural identity..
THE COVEN ON GREY STREET
Wellington
29/04/2023 - 27/05/2023
"Seasoned cast of veteran actors superb..
"A rich theatrical treat on many levels..
Cocked & Reloaded
Wellington
18/04/2023 - 22/04/2023
"Good comic timing and team-work generate 80 minutes of well-wrought fun..
THE KING OF TAKING
Dunedin, Nelson, Wellington
14/10/2022 - 25/03/2023
"Entertaining excellence that pricks the pretensions of those in power..
"Masterful miming and a theatre full of laughter..
More reviews
STORIES ABOUT MY BODY
Whangarei, Wellington, Hamilton
14/10/2022 - 02/03/2024
"A courageous act of generosity and care that makes the human divine..
"Offers astonishing revelations into human experiences that are fundamental to our very existence: unique yet universal..
More reviews
Only Bones V1.10
Wellington
11/02/2023 - 07/03/2023
"Playfulness that variously fascinates, astounds, intrigues and provokes empathy..
Flow
Wellington, Dunedin
05/03/2023 - 19/03/2023
"A poignant exploration of love, death, grief, and what it means to live a life that subverts expectations..
"If the purpose is to set us adrift in a Limbo where things that may once have seemed important are…..
WHAT KEITH DID
Wellington
02/03/2023 - 05/03/2023
"Entertainingly absurdist production raises pertinent questions about being disenfranchised, robbed, angered, apologetic and even forgiving..
THE CULTURE
"Zeros in on an abiding issue that constantly needs to be called out..
GASLIGHT ME
Dunedin, Wellington
23/03/2022 - 04/03/2023
"An extremely intelligent, insightful and entertaining exposé of a persistent psychological condition..
"A scintillating production - both ebullient and subtle..
TO BE FRANK
Whangarei, Wellington
30/09/2022 - 04/03/2023
"An immediately relatable yet surprisingly profound microcosm of the human condition..
"ABSURDLY FUNNY, EXCRUCIATINGLY HUMAN..
In Bed with Schoenberg
Wellington
25/02/2023 - 17/03/2023
"Darker notes of a contradictory life..
"Universal themes of being misunderstood, underappreciated and displaced resonate amid the comedy..
THE FLOATING THEATRE
Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington
01/03/2017 - 25/02/2023
"As a show of two halves, it engages its audiences in very different ways and is well positioned as part…..
"Seriously good, feel-provoking theatre..
More reviews
CAUTION WET FLOOR
Wellington
21/02/2023 - 25/02/2023
"Reality and fantasy, disappointment and joy, desire and hubris foxtrot with each other in this compelling microcosm of the human…..
