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.
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?..
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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