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.
Te Kaupoi
Wellington, Auckland
10/06/2010 - 23/07/2010
"Power reduced by unrevealed motivations..
"Cheeky humour escapes from repressive and brutal nz police state..
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Salomé
Wellington
01/06/2010 - 05/06/2010
"A vivid unveiling..
The Intricate Art of Actually Caring
Dunedin, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth, Hastings, Hamilton, Wanaka
10/02/2009 - 28/06/2012
"On the road again..
"Deliciously laconic, funny and captivating..
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A Baker’s Dozen
from Invercargill to Warkworth
24/05/2010 - 25/06/2010
"Simultaneously compelling, entertaining and thought-provoking: this is what theatre’s all about..
Tea for Toot
Auckland, Wellington
21/05/2010 - 16/07/2011
"Charming and unique..
"A magical and menacing must-see!..
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The Famous History of Sir Thomas Wyatt
Wellington
19/05/2010 - 22/05/2010
"Fluid, well-paced and clear but cannot avoid the bathos..
Lullaby Jock
Wellington, Auckland
27/07/2009 - 29/05/2010
"A brave piece..
"One man show (not that you’d notice) is a brilliant portrayal of a father by his son..
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The NERO Show
Wellington
15/05/2010 - 19/06/2010
"Roman musical comedy needs dialogue to really sparkle..
"A splendid artistic and theatrical achievement..
FASITUA AMOSA is Ruufless!!
Auckland, Wellington
24/04/2010 - 15/05/2010
"A unique perspective..
"Lewd, racist, real and true..
MEDLOCK & MUSGROVE: The Giant Face (NZ)
Auckland, Wellington
04/05/2010 - 11/05/2010
"Falls short of its potential..
"Has the casual air of a varsity show..
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Joel Salom’s Gadgets
Wellington
11/05/2010 - 15/05/2010
"Goofy gadgets mighty impressive..
"Vibrant, inventive and hugely entertaining..
CHOPPER: Make Deadsh*ts History (Aus)
Wellington, Auckland
07/05/2010 - 15/05/2010
"Audience a charity case, Chopper a philanthropist..
"His two-out-of-three theory makes this critic a contender..
JEREMY ELWOOD Thinks Too Much
Auckland, Dunedin, Wellington
18/03/2010 - 15/05/2010
"He gives a damn which makes him worth it..
"Skilled comic artist also impresses as thoughtful humanist philosopher..
CHRIS BRAIN: The Oneforty (NZ)
Auckland, Wellington
27/04/2010 - 08/05/2010
"Riffing off tweets..
"Quirky quips and anxiety..
SAMMY J & RANDY in Ricketts Lane (Aus)
Wellington, Auckland
04/05/2010 - 15/05/2010
"Madcap, ingenious and half the price of Avenue Q..
"Ha ha, that’s a swearing sock..
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The Glorious Sky Awesomes
Wellington
27/04/2010 - 01/05/2010
"Pie-in-sky look at space race..
"Deserves further development..
JAMIE BOWEN: Rational Fear Of Concrete
Wellington, Auckland
27/04/2010 - 08/05/2010
"Plucky and chuckly..
First Laughs 2010
Wellington
25/04/2010 - 25/04/2010
"Get out and get into it people!..
Ex_isle of Strangers
Wellington
15/04/2010 - 18/04/2010
"Healing the hurts of history..
Miss Saigon
Wellington
09/04/2010 - 17/04/2010
"Challenges met with alacrity..
"Harmonious rendition of tensions..
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Goldilocks and the Three Queers
Wellington
11/02/2010 - 17/04/2010
"High-camp theatricality overwhelms dramatic potential..
"Simply too long but with great potential..
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Dead Man’s Cell Phone
Wellington
10/04/2010 - 08/05/2010
"A Ruhl unto herself?..
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Wellington
06/04/2010 - 17/04/2010
"Highly entertaining..
"The magic of mass imagination..
