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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.

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Silent Night

Auckland, Tauranga, Nelson, Hastings, Whangarei, Wellington, Kerikeri

13/12/2010 - 26/11/2016

"Bitter-sweet clarity carries laugh 'til you cry survivor story..

"A beautiful piece of theatre..

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Meat

Petone, Hutt Valley

29/11/2011 - 04/12/2011

"Feast of entertainment as chef relates to vegetables..

"Rich pleasures and poignancies..

Tinderbox

Wellington

25/11/2011 - 03/12/2011

"A powerful production: don’t miss it..

"Wondrously crafted production of great intelligence, wisdom and creative inquisitiveness..

Party with the Aunties

Dunedin, Nelson, , Feilding, Wellington, New Plymouth, Paekākāriki, Christchurch

09/04/2011 - 14/11/2019

"The classic Kiwi shindig, theatricalised..

"A fabulous night that leaves you feeling joyful..

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Roger Hall’s Aladdin: the pantomime

Wellington

19/11/2011 - 23/12/2011

"Out of the bottle..

"Impressive magic among the gags..

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The Tragedy of Julius Caesar

Wellington

12/11/2011 - 28/11/2011

"Nothing could be more immediately relevant..

Wake Less

Wellington, Auckland

11/11/2011 - 25/02/2012

"Pushing the envelope..

"Travel in dreams offers big range of destinations..

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Love’s Labour’s Lost

Wellington

26/10/2011 - 04/11/2011

"A delight of dichotomies..

"Energy, fun and some inconsistency..

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Rise - Java Dance Company

Wellington

22/10/2011 - 05/11/2011

"Connecting all the senses..

"Flour, treacle water -- a finely negotiated balance..

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Joseph Harper: The Boy and The Bicycle

Auckland, Wellington

12/10/2011 - 21/10/2011

"Intense yet lyrical, fretted with humour, absorbing and strangely life-affirming..

"Raw, honest and enjoyable..

Joseph Harper: Bikes I’ve Owned Versus Girls I’ve Fallen In Love With

Auckland, Wellington

06/05/2011 - 22/10/2011

"Comedy of anguish generously shared..

"Genuinely likeable autobiographical chat..

Yo Future

Wellington

18/10/2011 - 23/10/2011

"Mortality and anarchy loom large..

"Well-wrought, compelling and salutary..

Sex Drive

Wellington

15/10/2011 - 12/11/2011

"Intimacy lacking in play about intimate matters..

"Sex Drive cruises in fourth gear but finally hits turbo..

The NZ Improv Festival 2011

Wellington

11/10/2011 - 15/10/2011

"Energy and enthusiasm beats ineffectual limpness..

"Making it their own..

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Spaced Out!

Wellington

10/10/2011 - 22/10/2011

"Wild imagination of school holiday theatre..

"A bit too predetermined?..

The Hare and The Tortoise

Wellington

08/10/2011 - 22/10/2011

"Wild imagination of school holiday theatre..

"Brains v speed gets a fresh run – plus ‘guess my gripe’..

Arohanui – The Greatest Love

Wellington, Auckland

06/10/2011 - 21/10/2011

"Blazing the trail for Maori performance potential..

"Kapa haka greatest treasure in epic tale..

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Big Love

Wellington

04/10/2011 - 08/10/2011

"Ancient ragbag gets makeover..

"Diversity unified in timeless tale..

Falling Sparrows Here or There

Wellington

28/09/2011 - 01/10/2011

"Deeply simple fun with angst..

The First Asian AB

Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington

13/09/2011 - 25/02/2012

"Local bromance a winning combo..

"Not about the rugby..

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Death By Cheerleader

Auckland, Wellington

14/09/2011 - 24/09/2011

"Futuristic cheerleaders in unfunny bellyflop..

"A nudge is all it needs..

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Public Service Announcements #2

Wellington

02/09/2011 - 17/09/2011

"Borax poked effectively..

"Political targets well hit..

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I, George Nepia

Gisborne, Nelson, Auckland, Wellington, Wairarapa, Christchurch, New Plymouth

07/09/2011 - 18/10/2014

"Imagination, courage and talent make this simply great..

"Simply captivating..

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