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 Skyrocketeers of Justice Vs The Zombie Apocalypse
Wellington
08/02/2009 - 12/02/2009
"Promise fizzles..
"Rooted in truth..
A Mime To Kill
Wellington, Auckland
07/02/2009 - 19/03/2009
"Literally shifts the boundaries of convention..
"Quiet triumph..
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Colony! + Grimm
Wellington
06/02/2009 - 09/02/2009
"Challenges to bourgeoning skills enjoyable for the audience..
"New talent knocking at the stage door..
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Buddha Boy
Wellington
03/02/2009 - 09/02/2009
"Engaging searches for enlightenment..
"A fair and very earnest effort..
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The Frogs Under the Waterfront
Wellington
02/02/2009 - 07/02/2009
"Cast meet challenge like ducks to water..
"Wonderfully fresh, outward-looking and entertaining..
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Destination: Death
Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North
17/04/2008 - 04/03/2009
"Perfectly entertained and moved..
"A memorable slice of rural life..
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Betrayal
Wellington
24/01/2009 - 21/02/2009
"Solid production of excellent play strangely unaffecting..
"Lack of Chemistry..
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The Altruists
Wellington
21/01/2009 - 31/01/2009
"Nasty folk..
"Little to laugh at in dark comedy..
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Becoming the Courtesan – a remarkable seduction
Wellington
10/01/2009 - 17/01/2009
"Doesn't quite come off..
"Manners and mores of the past explore timeless emotions..
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Wellington Theatre 2008 Wrap
Wellington
01/01/2008 - 31/12/2008
"Others worthy of mention for their work in Wellington during 2008..
"There can be only one..
Cynthia's Christmas at Circa
Wellington
20/11/2008 - 21/12/2008
"Cynthia’s back, polished and so up-to-date..
"The comic diva, her silent accomplice and a willing chorus..
Roger Hall’s RED Riding Hood
Wellington
15/11/2008 - 21/12/2008
"Naughty, topical fun..
"A great way to introduce kids to the magic of theatre..
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Heat
Wellington
07/11/2008 - 22/11/2008
"Challenging, exciting, engaging..
"From chipper to bleak..
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The Pillowman
Wellington
01/11/2008 - 08/11/2008
"Deeply disturbing imagery..
"Juicy questions..
AoTERRORoa
Wellington
28/10/2008 - 06/11/2008
"Some inspired moments despite thin characters..
Unity (1918)
Wellington
23/10/2008 - 01/11/2008
"Rich harvest in dark comedy..
The Outing
Wellington
16/10/2008 - 18/10/2008
"Corn-fed coterie..
"Clunky collage of cliché ridden ineptitude..
Wait Until Dark
Wellington
11/10/2008 - 08/11/2008
"Blind faith: successful revival of 60s hit..
"One of the finest shows of the year..
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Adagio
Wellington
10/10/2008 - 01/11/2008
"What a circus, what a show..
"Existential physical theatre: poignancy, wit, spectacle, danger..
Blasted
Wellington
01/10/2008 - 04/10/2008
"Authentic atrocities..
The Devil’s Architect
Wellington
19/09/2008 - 21/09/2008
"Intense but unsatisfying..
"Good performances in weak play..
On The Conditions and Possibilities of Helen Clark taking me as her Young Lover
Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin
15/01/2008 - 27/09/2008
"Meros for office!..
"Perfect timing..
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