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.
LUCRECE: An Adaptation of Shakespeare’s the Rape of Lucrece
Wellington
19/04/2012 - 11/05/2012
"Sensitive and challenging subject explored with great integrity..
HAIR – the rock musical
Wellington
18/04/2012 - 21/04/2012
"A fabulous and timely flashback..
OTHER PEOPLE’S WARS
Wellington
17/04/2012 - 28/04/2012
"Play questions our involvement in war..
"If you want shock and awe, don't miss it..
A SHORTCUT TO HAPPINESS
Wellington
14/04/2012 - 26/05/2012
"Latest offering hits spot in search for happiness..
"Good chemistry..
More reviews
LIVE AT SIX
Wellington
13/04/2012 - 28/04/2012
"Dream media roles..
"YouTube, TV news make fine theatre..
More reviews
NUCKING FUTS
Wellington
12/04/2012 - 21/04/2012
"Expected more..
"Comedy a quirky and unusual piece..
More reviews
THE SEED
Melbourne, Australia
22/02/2012 - 04/04/2012
"A young woman's perspective on generations of male violence..
These are the Skeletons of Us
Auckland, Wellington
09/08/2011 - 05/04/2012
"Skeleton without structure..
"Refreshing change with a love story told backwards..
More reviews
LOSER
Wellington
20/03/2012 - 24/03/2012
"Low Comedy..
"Couldn't see the play for the acting..
New Zealand International Arts Festival 2012
Wellington
24/02/2012 - 18/03/2012
"Theatre Wrap Up: Homegrown fare right up there in the highlights..
RAOUL
Wellington
14/03/2012 - 18/03/2012
"Silent master at work, but the show went on too long..
"Exotic yet somehow familiar: fantastic fun..
LEO: The Anti-Gravity Show
Wellington, Auckland, New Plymouth, Christchurch, Wairarapa, Nelson, Tauranga
13/03/2012 - 20/01/2019
"SEE IT!..
"A show of supreme intelligence..
More reviews
THE MĀORI TROILUS AND CRESSIDA - TOROIHI RĀUA KO KĀHIRA
Auckland, Wellington, London
09/03/2012 - 24/04/2012
"Remarkable, aggressive, thoughtful..
"Language no barrier to universality and tragicomic richness..
More reviews
RICHARD MEROS SALUTES THE SOUTHERN MAN
Takaka, Auckland, Dunedin, Nelson, Hamilton, Wellington
08/03/2012 - 01/12/2012
"Cleverly constructed and excellently performed..
"A salute to the Southern Man..
More reviews
WHITE
Wellington
07/03/2012 - 09/03/2012
"A simple yet profound celebration of diversity..
A PLAY ABOUT LOVE
Wellington
06/03/2012 - 17/03/2012
"A little too clever?..
"Witty, charming and thoughtful..
More reviews
Frequently Asked Questions: To Be or Not to Be
Wellington, Hamilton, Nelson
02/03/2012 - 27/10/2012
"When shall these four meet again?..
"Thrilling collision of characters..
More reviews
MASI
Wellington
02/03/2012 - 06/03/2012
"The magical experience of discovery and recovery..
TU
Wellington, Auckland
01/03/2012 - 27/07/2013
"A profound theatrical experience..
"Tū latest to show war's impact on Maori life..
More reviews
THE NO NONSENSE PARENTING SHOW
Wellington
29/02/2012 - 03/03/2012
"A meaty message from the right..
Hūrai
Wellington
28/02/2012 - 03/03/2012
"Important work delivered with flair..
SPACE BITCHES
Wellington
28/02/2012 - 03/03/2012
"A farce wearing its heart on its sleeve..
"If this is the means, what is the end?..
BABYLON
Wellington
28/02/2012 - 02/03/2012
"An extraordinary sensory experience whichever way you interpret it..
