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.
Live at Six
Wellington
17/10/2009 - 31/10/2009
"Fearless writers..
"Overhyped but entertaining..
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Ladies a Plate
Petone, Hutt Valley
15/10/2009 - 18/10/2009
"Nutrition for the heart, mind and soul..
"Humour, sensuousness and empathy..
Rudey Trudey
Wellington
13/10/2009 - 17/10/2009
"Promising actress..
"Seductive journey – to where?..
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Eugene Onegin
Wellington, Auckland
17/09/2009 - 17/10/2009
"Delivers on promise of excellence..
"Grasps the heart of a timeless tale..
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Henry VI Part 1
Wellington
12/10/2009 - 14/10/2009
"Shakespeare lives at Vic!..
The Vertical Hour
Wellington
10/10/2009 - 07/11/2009
"From war zone to family battlefield..
"Interesting if neither gripping nor enlightening..
Biography Of My Skin
Wellington, Auckland
09/10/2009 - 25/09/2010
"Clever play within a play gets under your skin..
"Courageously confessional post-post-modern retro catharsis..
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Mother Love
Wellington
30/09/2009 - 10/10/2009
"Profound experiences we can all relate to..
Fireworks
Wellington
30/09/2009 - 09/10/2009
"Sizzles, glows, sparkles and flares..
Good Night - The End
Wellington
11/09/2009 - 03/10/2009
"Appointment with Death revisited..
"Not pitched or paced for the space..
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The Ant and The Grasshopper
Wellington
26/09/2009 - 10/10/2009
"New twist to an old familiar tale..
"Timeless message delivered with entertaining flair..
Mates & Lovers
Wellington
24/09/2009 - 03/10/2009
"A romp through history..
"Hitherto hidden history brought to light with sensitivity and humour..
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Postal
Wellington
22/09/2009 - 03/10/2009
"Comedy tugs at emotions..
"Entertaining comedy-of-anguish..
Four Flat Whites In Italy
Wellington
22/08/2009 - 03/10/2009
"More than one kind of journey..
"Full House = Roger Roger..
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Steel Ballerina
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
15/09/2009 - 11/10/2009
"Moving in parts..
"Play a poignant little pearl..
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Where Are You My Only One?
Wellington
05/09/2009 - 04/10/2009
"Deeply disappointing..
"Working Rhodes..
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Hansel and Gretel
Wellington
09/09/2009 - 19/09/2009
"Good intentions yet to manifest on stage..
"Provocative with theatrical flourish..
The Pohutukawa Tree
Auckland
03/09/2009 - 26/09/2009
"Deep roots..
"Rewarding production of deeply perceptive play..
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Not Vacant
Wellington
01/09/2009 - 05/09/2009
"Plot vacant..
"Wasted indeed..
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Bedlam
Wellington
01/09/2009 - 05/09/2009
"It’s torture..
"Excellent cast lifts bleak tale..
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Whero’s New Net
Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington
13/09/2008 - 11/09/2009
"Net gain..
"Compelling net casting..
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A taste of New York Theatre August 2009
Wellington
12/08/2009 - 17/08/2009
"Eight bites of the Apple..
