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.
I Heart Camping
Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington
24/02/2010 - 21/04/2011
"Camp ground cringe gives laughs aplenty in under-the-canvas show..
"Romantic comedy hard to believe..
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Skoolnite
Wellington
06/04/2011 - 09/04/2011
"A good show that could be excellent..
Brain Damage
Wellington
05/04/2011 - 09/04/2011
"Gone too far is the question, or not..
"A pointless exercise?..
August: Osage County
Wellington
02/04/2011 - 07/05/2011
"Tour de force at Circa..
"Powerful drama deserves its standing ovation..
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The Spy Who Wouldn’t Die Again
Wellington
31/03/2011 - 23/04/2011
"Slick twist-and-turn spy tale entertaining theatre..
"Purposeful method in inspired madness..
The Mourning After
Wellington
30/03/2011 - 27/10/2012
"Charming and at points spell-binding..
"Solo play engaging, entertaining..
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Fuddy Meers
Wellington
29/03/2011 - 09/04/2011
"Twists, turns and amnesia in this little gem of a show..
"Holding distorting mirrors up to life..
The Chathams – we’re f#!king sick of the silence
Wellington, Auckland
07/03/2011 - 02/04/2011
"Random entertainment lacks purpose..
"Mixed bag of sketches, slides, narration and song..
2 Dimensional Life of Her
Wanaka, Tauranga, Wellington, Auckland
21/03/2011 - 22/02/2012
"New Performance, New Dimensions..
"A charming, fresh approach to mixed-media work..
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A Curious Game
Wellington
21/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"Whacky musical squares..
Up Down Boy
Wellington
21/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"A quietly powerful performance..
Vinnie Septic and the Princesses
Wellington
21/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"A cleverly conceived blend of grossness and innocence..
Hear to See
Wellington
19/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"The old-fashioned brilliance of magical tricks..
"Amazing puppeteering in a story that could work better..
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Tomboi: Laugh Your Bits Off
Wellington
16/03/2011 - 19/03/2011
"The efficacy of self-pleasuring comedy..
"Good in parts..
Boats
Wellington
14/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"Ordinary objects ingeniously used..
The Whale’s Tale
Wellington
14/03/2011 - 19/03/2011
"Madness with a purpose..
Grimace
Wellington
14/03/2011 - 26/03/2011
"Well-paced fun fit for the purpose..
Fairy Stories
Wellington
12/03/2011 - 09/04/2011
"A sheer torrent of unstoppable talent..
"Yes camp and naughtiness, expect ’em | Plus all the rest of love’s rich spectrum..
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Crossing Lines
Wellington
09/03/2011 - 20/03/2011
"Being ‘Kiwi’..
"When two cultures collide..
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Mates & Lovers
Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Hamilton
17/11/2010 - 30/06/2012
"Universal resonance..
"Entertaining, informative and moving..
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The Idea of America
Auckland, Waiheke Island, Wellington
23/03/2010 - 19/03/2011
"American dream on-stage..
"Messed up family’s powerful portrayal painful to watch..
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Party Girls
Wellington
06/03/2011 - 06/03/2011
"A good election year stir-up..
(N)one Down
Wellington
02/03/2011 - 05/03/2011
"None down, everywhere to go..
