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.
Strange Resting Places
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, (not a specified venue), Nelson, Edinburgh, Scotland
18/03/2007 - 25/08/2014
"Beautifully constructed, creative and engaging..
"Humour, pain and profound insight shared..
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A Brief History of Helen of Troy
Wellington
11/03/2009 - 28/03/2009
"Banks on the money..
"Anguish and pain in collision of fantasies..
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Hatch - or The Plight of the Penguins
Auckland, Hawea, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington
15/03/2007 - 21/03/2009
"Divine Devenie..
"A brilliant insight into Victorian times..
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Rock ’n’ Roll
Wellington
28/02/2009 - 28/03/2009
"Stoppard rocks..
"Not to be missed..
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2009 – a space oddity
Wellington
27/02/2009 - 01/03/2009
"Way short of its potential..
Wolf’s Lair
Wellington, Auckland
26/02/2009 - 12/12/2009
"You have to see it..
"Guilt-driven portrait..
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Adam Page Solo
Wellington
18/02/2009 - 01/03/2009
"Coming the raw kumara..
"Very real talent in improvised show..
Post Gay
Auckland, Wellington
25/02/2009 - 13/03/2009
"Good subject matter not well handled..
"Limited abilities..
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The Navigators
Wellington, Christchurch,
23/01/2009 - 09/03/2010
"Brawn, brass and sassiness..
"High drama and low comedy enriches splendid spectacle..
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Instructions to a Double
Wellington
25/02/2009 - 28/02/2009
"Total failure to engage..
Keep it Rural
Wellington
22/02/2009 - 25/02/2009
"Rural treasures..
"Funny tales on the farm..
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Once Upon a Time in Aro Valley
Wellington
20/02/2009 - 24/02/2009
"What is a bloke to do?..
"Doesn’t deliver..
A Most Outrageous Humbug
Wellington
20/02/2009 - 29/05/2009
"A scintillating and impassioned homage..
"Memorable theatre on many levels..
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Suitcase
Wellington
19/02/2009 - 21/02/2009
"Feel good theatre..
"Has its moments but yet to achieve cohesion..
The Minister’s Son
Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington
19/02/2009 - 04/04/2009
"Warm, humorous yet honest portrayal of a still taboo subject..
"Bad night?..
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Kreskinned: The natural Canadian date drug
Wellington
17/02/2009 - 21/02/2009
"Engaging quirky comedy..
The Taming of the Shrew
Wellington
17/02/2009 - 21/02/2009
"Strong central performances..
Words Apart
Wellington
14/02/2009 - 18/02/2009
"Engrossing drama, fringe at its best..
"Little complexity or development..
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Henry V
Wairarapa, Wellington
05/02/2009 - 28/02/2009
"A wild ride..
"Cry God for Harry his iPod and the stilt walker..
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Faust Chroma
Wellington, Palmerston North
11/02/2009 - 21/02/2009
"Memorable and thought-provoking..
"Mind-blowing..
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Drowning Bird, Plummeting Fish
Wellington, Dunedin
11/02/2009 - 04/04/2009
"Wondrous, exciting, demanding, unfathomable, unmissable..
"Ambitious and dangerous..
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The Intricate Art of Actually Caring
Dunedin, Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth, Hastings, Hamilton, Wanaka
10/02/2009 - 28/06/2012
"On the road again..
"Deliciously laconic, funny and captivating..
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Lies & Other Stories Before Bed
Wellington
09/02/2009 - 13/02/2009
"No foundation..
