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.
THE WHALES
Wellington
16/02/2013 - 16/02/2013
"A remarkable happening..
ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA
Wellington
15/02/2013 - 02/03/2013
"Bard back in the Dell..
"Astutely orchestrated and dynamically paced with visceral eloquence..
THE ROAD THAT WASN'T THERE
Wellington, Auckland, Lyttelton, Dunedin, Nelson, Wairarapa, Tauranga, Hawea, Invercargill
12/02/2013 - 01/08/2020
"Magical storytelling with one problematic element..
"Combines all the very best parts of theatre and storytelling..
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A TEMPEST OFF MATIU-SOMES ISLAND
Wellington
07/02/2013 - 15/02/2014
"Intricacy lost in harbour crossing..
"Irreverent adaption cuts to an essence..
IPHIGENIA 2.O
Wellington
31/01/2013 - 09/02/2013
"Well-wrought production hits many moments of truth..
PERFECTLY WASTED
Wellington
01/02/2013 - 16/02/2013
"Perfect Energy..
"Opportunity wasted as audience left in the dark..
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CORIOLANUS
Wellington
24/01/2013 - 02/02/2013
"Lots of angry people..
"Shakespeare play full of bloodshed and revenge..
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KINGS OF THE GYM
Wellington
19/01/2013 - 15/02/2014
"‘Kings’ still hilarious..
"Light comedy raises pertinent social questions..
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ESCHATON
Wellington
17/12/2012 - 21/12/2012
"A theatrical meditation on the metamorphosing of humanity..
"Surreal interpretation of mankind’s last days..
The ImpoSTAR: Who Does He Think He Is?
Wellington
06/12/2012 - 09/11/2013
"Flamboyant dreams of stardom get the solo space they need..
"Energy, enthusiasm, bang on dance moves, a truly impressive voice …..
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A CHRISTMAS CRACKER
Wellington
04/12/2012 - 15/12/2012
"Creative ingenuity, responsiveness and – yes – wit..
The Island Bay Loners Doomsday Christmas Sing Along
Wellington
29/11/2012 - 15/12/2012
"A whimsical excuse to sing a few songs..
PSA: CHRISTMAS AT THE BEEHIVE
Wellington
22/11/2012 - 01/12/2012
"While patchy there’s brilliance..
CHARLES DICKENS PERFORMS A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Hastings, Wellington, Tauranga, Christchurch, Oamaru, Auckland,
16/11/2012 - 26/11/2012
"More matter, less art?..
"Brought to convincing life with warmth and skill..
Roger Hall’s CINDERELLA The Pantomime
Wellington
17/11/2012 - 12/01/2013
"Cinderella with modern twist lots of fun for all the family..
"A rattling good family show..
THE MOUSETRAP
Wellington
15/11/2012 - 24/11/2012
"Not trapped..
"Enduring ‘trap’ is delightful..
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BABY FACE
Wellington
08/11/2012 - 17/11/2012
"Admirable intentions fall short of potential..
THE TIGERS OF WRATH
Wellington
03/11/2012 - 01/12/2012
"Crucial questions provoked..
"Play charts shifts in NZ society..
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PAPER SKY: A Love Story
Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Oamaru, Invercargill
04/03/2011 - 05/05/2014
"Exquisite..
"Puppetry and illusion..
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ADRIFT
Wellington
17/10/2012 - 20/10/2012
"Purposeful gathering of what was adrift becomes profoundly moving..
FLATLAND
Wellington
13/10/2012 - 27/10/2012
"A flat look at today’s society..
"Variously interesting, puzzling, intriguing, frustrating, moving, amusing and tedious..
WHEELER’S LUCK
Wellington
11/10/2012 - 07/12/2012
"Lively Wheeler’s Luck turns at full throttle..
"Truly ridiculous, utterly hilarious, and refreshingly agenda-free farce..
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GO SOLO 2012
Wellington
03/10/2012 - 13/10/2012
"Group E..
"GROUP C..
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