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.
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..
More reviews
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..
More reviews
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..
More reviews
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..
Robin Hood and the Lost Crown
Wellington
06/04/2010 - 17/04/2010
"Humour, energy and animation..
"The performers make it a happy experience..
Elimination Rounds
Wellington, Auckland
30/03/2010 - 10/04/2010
"Bold Binge Culture..
"Political animals..
More reviews
Skungpoomery
Wellington
18/03/2010 - 27/03/2010
"Skungpoomers channel Ken’s mischievous character..
"Inspired slapstick with a gentle heart..
The Walworth Farce
Wellington
17/03/2010 - 21/03/2010
"Some sort of allegory for a state of self-destructive denial?..
"Irish eyes probably won’t be smiling..
The Second Test
Wellington, Dunedin, Auckland, Hamilton
15/02/2010 - 30/06/2012
"Unexpectedly funny rendition of a moving story..
"Production passes poignancy test in recapturing the past..
More reviews
T.E.O.R.E.M.A.T.
Wellington
13/03/2010 - 19/03/2010
"Superbly focused performances and production elements..
"An irritating puzzle, but wonderfully spun..
The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy
Wellington
14/03/2010 - 21/03/2010
"Liked by children..
"A quirky, offbeat tale that works..
More reviews
Mark Twain & Me in Mâoriland
Wellington
13/03/2010 - 24/07/2010
"Magic and comedy in return visit to Maoriland..
"Absorbing quest a very special experience..
More reviews
360
Wellington
12/03/2010 - 21/03/2010
"A thrilling theatrical experience..
"A new spin on an old tale..
More reviews
The Arrival
Wellington, Auckland, Seoul, South Korea
12/03/2009 - 15/07/2012
"The Arrival exceeds expectations..
"Organically articulate, skilful, lyrical, universal and inspirational..
More reviews
11 and 12
Wellington
10/03/2010 - 14/03/2010
"Failed to fire..
"Political theatre at its most quiet..
More reviews
He Reo Aroha
Palmerston North, Wellington, Otaki, Christchurch, Auckland, Feilding
09/03/2010 - 14/03/2013
"Dexterity, intelligence, warmth, passion, humour, and a fine musicality..
"A magical piece of theatre..
More reviews
GURU OF CHAI
Auckland & Wellington, Wellington, Nelson, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wanaka, Auckland, NYC, USA, Christchurch, Raumati
11/02/2010 - 11/08/2024
"Guru of Chai is ‘pure theatre magic’..
"Resonant themes of love, loss and redemption leave a lasting impact..
More reviews
