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.
What's in a Man?
Wellington
04/02/2010 - 12/02/2010
"Clumsy men..
"Question marks over play dealing with men’s issues..
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Vernon God Little
Wellington
04/02/2010 - 13/02/2010
"Modern day Hamlet..
"Vernon God Little..
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Pirates Vs Ninjas
Wellington
02/02/2010 - 15/02/2010
"A complete and total blast..
"Wild ride..
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Currency
Wellington
02/02/2010 - 06/02/2010
"Mixed bag..
"Dealing with the currency of life..
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Ninety
Wellington
23/01/2010 - 20/02/2010
"90 minutes with the ex..
"Compelling performances help redeem glib script..
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Love Animal
Wellington
19/01/2010 - 30/01/2010
"Intermittent brightness..
"Yet to be made flesh..
Mo and Jess Kill Susie
Wellington
07/01/2010 - 23/01/2010
"A killer play..
"Compelling hostage drama with sharp political edge..
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Scary Sagas at Bats
Wellington
08/01/2010 - 16/01/2010
"Confronting the fearsome in fantasy and fable..
Te Haerenga: a journey of identity
Wellington
07/01/2010 - 16/01/2010
"Good journey..
"A show of life and meaning..
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2009 Wellington Theatre wrap
Wellington
10/01/2009 - 20/12/2009
"What a year!..
The Wishing Tree
Wellington
08/12/2009 - 24/11/2012
"Energetic and fun, if a bit uneven..
"Proactive conviction and generous interactivity..
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An Adagio Christmas
Wellington
04/12/2009 - 20/12/2009
"Christmas must-see..
"A delightful confection of tinsel and tantrums..
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Titus Andronicus
Wellington
04/12/2009 - 07/12/2009
"A vivid and visceral critique of human behaviour..
Hot Pink Bits
Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington
14/05/2007 - 12/12/2009
"No place for inhibitions..
"Enlightening, enlivening, amusing..
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Double Portrait: Finding Frances Hodgkins
Waikanae, Hamilton, Wellington
27/11/2009 - 07/07/2012
"A passion to paint against all odds..
"Handstand on Hodgkins a revelation..
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Confessions of a Drag Queen
Auckland, Wellington
25/11/2009 - 19/03/2011
"I was interested, I was engaged, I laughed …..
"Not so much of a confession but certainly not a drag..
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GAS
Wellington
24/11/2009 - 05/12/2009
"Too much..
"A joyous, energetic experiment..
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Roger Hall’s Dick Whittington and his Cat: The Pantomime
Wellington
14/11/2009 - 16/01/2010
"Loud music..
"Invention and lunacy are alive and well..
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It’s Rhys Darby Night
Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland
06/11/2009 - 11/12/2009
"Cleverly conceived, perfectly pitched, hugely satisfying..
"Excruciating Darby brings the house down..
Death and the Dreamlife of Elephants
Wellington
10/11/2009 - 04/06/2011
"Magical Dreamscape..
"Quest poetic but just too elephantine..
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Collapsing Creation
Wellington
05/11/2009 - 28/11/2009
"Profoundly well-made..
"Meek and wild..
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Stand-Up and be Counted!
Wellington
07/10/2009 - 28/10/2009
"Whiff of danger enhances the audience experience..
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
Wellington
22/10/2009 - 31/10/2009
"Irreverent take on a German classic..
"Was that the earth moving?..
