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 Nominal Space
Wellington
14/02/2008 - 17/02/2008
"Stays in your mind..
"It’s up to us to believe..
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The Beckoning of Hope
Wellington
12/02/2008 - 16/02/2008
"Committed performance cannot make flawed play gel..
"A beautiful testament..
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Familiar Strangers
Wellington
12/02/2008 - 01/03/2008
"Assured performances on the Fringes of Community..
"Diversity and community: highly recommended..
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VünderBra!
Wellington
11/02/2008 - 16/02/2008
"Cameos in bra shop..
"Development issues..
And They Did.
Wellington
13/02/2008 - 09/03/2008
"Startling originality and energy..
"‘Political’ message too thin and confused..
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Sex+Murder=Play
Wellington
08/02/2008 - 12/02/2008
"Undercooked..
Project Exiles: the return of a man called Ulysses
Wellington
08/02/2008 - 11/02/2008
"Terrific potential wasted..
"Moments of wonderful theatre..
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The Man, The Pie and The Taxi Guy
Wellington
05/02/2008 - 10/02/2008
"Wanted: more chances for these talents to shine..
"Madcap soloists a sharp blast..
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Ground
Wellington
25/01/2008 - 02/02/2008
"Objective awareness fails to engage..
"Entertaining yet unsatisfying..
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Presenting The Tinkles
Wellington
23/01/2008 - 02/02/2008
"A fun filled show full of laughs..
"Big laughs but too much over-acting..
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Rabbit
Wellington
18/01/2008 - 16/02/2008
"Dazzling surface; fine, smart performances..
"More style than substance?..
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PAUA
Wellington
19/01/2008 - 16/02/2008
"The price of paua..
"Action, intrigue, overt physicality with political/ecological message makes for a must-see winner..
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Armslength
Wellington
18/01/2008 - 17/02/2008
"Balancing acts..
"Cracking good dialogue and actions could have been left to speak for themselves..
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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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A Renaissance Man
Wellington
10/01/2007 - 19/01/2007
"Mining the depths of despair, hilarity and bawdiness..
"The funny side of John Donne..
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Dickens' Women
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington
28/11/2007 - 09/12/2007
"Sublime character acting and acerbic commentary..
"An indefatigable treasure of the stage..
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Godzone
Wellington
04/12/2007 - 15/12/2007
"Giggles and warm fuzzies..
"Gentle spoof on Kiwi men..
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Revenge of the Amazons
Wellington
30/11/2007 - 15/12/2007
"An absolute gas of an evening..
"They all rock..
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The Wind Speaks to Wellington
Wellington
28/11/2007 - 01/12/2007
"Overall, not for me..
"A blown opportunity?..
A Streetcar Named Desire
Wellington
24/11/2007 - 22/12/2007
"Visceral, imaginative and highly entertaining..
"Exciting work..
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Roger Hall’s JACK and the BEANSTALK: The Pantomime
Wellington
17/11/2007 - 23/12/2007
"Entertaining, engaging performances..
"A convert to panto..
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Urinetown: The Musical
Wellington
17/11/2007 - 22/12/2007
"Funny send-up and gutsy performances..
"Energetic direction and performances..
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The Kreutzer
Christchurch, Auckland, Wellington
14/11/2007 - 09/08/2009
"Inspirational for music enthusiasts and theatre-goers alike..
"Identity, mistakes and jolts of discomfort..
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