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.
HOLE
Wellington
20/11/2021 - 18/12/2021
"Humanises stories of scientists and activists in Antarctica..
"Bound to engage your head and heart in positive ways..
THE LITTLE MERMAID The Pantomime
Wellington
19/11/2021 - 23/12/2021
"A rollicking night out for all the family..
"Satire, comedy, drama, near tragedy and delight..
BIRTHS DEATHS AND MARRIAGES on stage
Wellington
02/11/2021 - 06/11/2021
"Truth, no matter how painful, produces quality comedy..
LIVE THROUGH THIS
Wellington
23/10/2021 - 13/11/2021
"Two shows make for brilliant theatre..
"Entertaining opportunities to engage with our own pasts, presents and futures..
ORLANDO
Wellington
20/10/2021 - 22/10/2021
"A lot to discover and contemplate beneath the comedically rippling surface..
WHĀNAU
Wellington
19/10/2021 - 23/10/2021
"A rich, insightful and profound experience..
MASTERFOOL
Wellington
15/10/2021 - 15/10/2021
"Yet another triumph of agreeable collegiality..
DUETS: Balancing Head and Heart
Wellington
13/10/2021 - 13/10/2021
"Magical manifestations from nothing..
HERE'S A THING: NZIF 2021 Opening
Wellington
12/10/2021 - 12/10/2021
"Plethora of spontaneous creativity bodes extremely well..
HIR
Wellington
09/10/2021 - 06/11/2021
"The best kind of theatrical shock..
"Offers full theatre package..
More reviews
MR FUNGUS
Wellington
05/10/2021 - 05/10/2024
"Special delights in effusive silence..
"Funny and charming..
WHITE MEN
Wellington
23/09/2021 - 02/10/2021
"Simultaneously shocking and hilarious..
GREEDY CAT Online
Auckland
02/09/2021 - 02/10/2021
"Lively, amusing and likely to inspire creative play..
SILENT SPRING REVISITED: Rachel Carson’s Fight for Nature
Wellington, Nelson
13/08/2021 - 28/03/2023
"Entertains, educates and shakes us out of our complacency..
"An unthreatening wake-up call..
WINDING UP
Wellington
31/07/2021 - 28/08/2021
"A poignant lesson in undying love..
"Humorous, insightful, poignant and heart-warming..
TAP HEAD
Wellington
13/07/2021 - 17/07/2021
"Evokes empathy, compassion, admiration and quite a few chuckles..
WHADDARYA?
Wellington
02/07/2021 - 03/07/2021
"Affirms the inestimable value of our performing arts..
ELLING
Wellington
29/06/2021 - 24/07/2021
"May well reach its potential..
BROWN CROWN
Wellington
04/02/2021 - 12/06/2021
"Malo lava mo se faaaliga sili (well done for a great play)!..
"A rich blend of classical and modern stories and performance conventions..
More reviews
PARADISE or The Impermanence of Ice Cream
Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch
23/10/2020 - 28/09/2024
"Another brilliant theatre experience from Indian Ink..
"Secrets, science and vultures come home to roost..
More reviews
HELLO DARLINGS! with Pamela Hancock
Wellington
03/03/2020 - 15/05/2021
"Infectious enjoyment with a tinge of pathos..
"You can’t help but love Pam..
JAMES ROQUE Boy Mestizo The Return
Wellington
08/04/2021 - 07/05/2021
"Crucial socio-political message personalised in a highly entertaining way..
INSIDE JAMES MUSTAPIC
Wellington
06/05/2021 - 08/05/2021
"Plenty of clever and amusing material..
