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.
ROME The Musical
Wellington
21/06/2008 - 29/07/2008
"When in Rome..
"Musicals are silly..
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Young and Hungry 08
Wellington
20/06/2008 - 05/07/2008
"Fresh and tasting..
"Mixed responses in peer reviews..
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Love Song
Wellington
14/06/2008 - 19/07/2008
"This play will stay with you..
"Rings true without being rooted in realism..
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Spring Awakening
Wellington
06/06/2008 - 08/06/2008
"Well performed and directed..
"Timeless truths explored, exposed, questioned and celebrated..
My Brilliant Divorce
Wellington
31/05/2008 - 11/04/2009
"A better version than the rest of the world has seen?..
"Conveniently packaged for mass consumption..
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Burnt Coffee
Wellington
29/05/2008 - 11/06/2008
"Detestable trio..
"Lively dialogue in a loveless world..
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Guardians
Wellington
27/05/2008 - 11/06/2008
"It's their job..
"Worthwhile and thought provoking..
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Songs of Hollow Hill
Wellington
27/05/2008 - 31/05/2008
"A curious show with plenty of magic..
"A fine bit of fun but how about some plot..
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Ka Mate, Ka Ora
Wellington
21/05/2008 - 01/06/2008
"Rough-hewn view of Kiwis in Vietnam..
"True stories told for a powerful purpose..
Bone
Wellington
17/05/2008 - 07/06/2008
"Tricky threesome..
"A compelling portrait of three lives in crisis..
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The Last 5 Years
Wellington
15/05/2008 - 24/05/2008
"Love lacking..
"Musical marriage needs theatricality..
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Handy Man
Wellington
13/05/2008 - 24/05/2008
"A powder keg..
"A truly unwelcome tradesman..
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The American Pilot
Wellington
10/05/2008 - 14/06/2008
"Power trip..
"Intriguing allegory, but …..
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La Bohème
Wellington, Auckland
10/05/2008 - 07/06/2008
"Lean update beautiful, brutal – and a winner..
"Amazing singing wasted on paper-thin plot..
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The Imposters: Heroes and Heroin
Wellington
08/05/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Good in parts, dodgy in others..
Tim and Andy: AN ADVENTURE
Wellington
07/05/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Unpretentious, convoluted, charming..
"Real to surreal with comic truth and timing..
(Not) The All India Radio Show
Wellington
06/05/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Muddled, arbitrary, long..
"Not ready..
Improv - The Rock Opera
Wellington
06/05/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Virtually guaranteed entertainment. They rock..
The Paradigms of the Square
Wellington
30/04/2008 - 03/05/2008
"Square whatsit in the proverbial round thing?..
Steve Wrigley: The First Time
Wellington, Auckland
29/04/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Honest, wicked, imaginative..
"Touching humour..
The Lady Bunch
Wellington
29/04/2008 - 03/05/2008
"An excellent combo..
Cohen Holloway’s Hypnotastic Tour 2008
Auckland, Wellington
24/04/2008 - 03/05/2008
"Props save oh-so-silly show..
"You have to be there..
Mrs. Peacock: Six Feet From The Edge
Wellington, Auckland
23/04/2008 - 10/05/2008
"Hamstrung by expectation?..
"Falling short of expectations..
