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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.

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Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.

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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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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..

Vienna Verona

Wellington

05/08/2009 - 15/08/2009

"A step up..

"Mongrel play..

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All’s Well that Ends Well?

Wellington

23/07/2009 - 25/07/2009

"Clarity and delight..

Wellington

04/07/2009 - 01/08/2009

"Entertaining Orton: Circa has successfully tapped into the zeitgeist..

"Stage sex and language..

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