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.
THINGS I KNOW TO BE TRUE
Wellington, Christchurch
20/03/2021 - 29/05/2021
"A sort of elegiac tragedy without villains or fatal flaws..
"Cast outstanding in powerful family drama..
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UP DOWN GIRL
Wellington, Palmerston North
28/02/2020 - 01/05/2021
"Show filled with love affection and music..
"A richly layered and uplifting experience..
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TRANSMISSION
Wellington
20/04/2021 - 01/05/2021
"Tells the story of the humanity behind the Covid headlines..
"Holding Leaders to Account..
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TALE OF A DOG
Wellington
17/04/2021 - 30/04/2021
"A simple tale very well told..
THE HAKA PARTY INCIDENT
Auckland, Wellington, Rotorua, Christchurch
30/03/2021 - 11/11/2023
"The Haka Party Incident – bold, ferocious, essential viewing..
"Me hoki whakamuri kia anga whakamua: Look to the past to move boldly to the future...
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DON'T WAKE ME UP
Wellington
25/03/2021 - 01/04/2021
"Provokes deeper awareness and greater compassion..
YES YES YES
Wellington, Hamilton
27/02/2019 - 27/03/2021
"Theatre that truly makes a positive difference..
"Honesty, humour and balance sensitively shared..
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Strasbourg 1518
Wellington, Auckland
12/03/2020 - 28/03/2021
"Mystery and Frenzy..
"Powerful ruminations on the original event and our current situation..
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THE LOST LETTER OFFICE
Wellington
21/03/2021 - 21/03/2021
"Raises the bar of creative excellence..
SLAY THE DRAGON OR SAVE THE DRAGON OR NEITHER
Wellington
19/03/2021 - 27/03/2021
"Funny, heart-breaking and non-linear..
"An ingeniously involving experience..
HATAITAI TIMES
Wellington
14/03/2021 - 14/03/2021
"Heightened realities in Hataitai: ingeniously created and astonishing to behold..
"Brilliantly building the unpredictable and heightened saga of the Hataitai Times..
WE’LL DANCE ON THE ASH OF THE APOCALYPSE
Wellington
11/03/2021 - 13/03/2021
"Well crafted at all levels..
THE BOOK OF MARK
Wellington
09/03/2021 - 10/03/2021
"Little connection..
THE WILD CARD
Wellington
09/03/2021 - 11/03/2021
"Leaves quite a bit to be desired..
POTLUCK
Wellington
09/03/2021 - 11/03/2021
"Offers more than may first seem to meet the eye..
THE BUILDERS FRINGE
Wellington
08/03/2021 - 13/03/2021
"A fascinating time..
DR DRAMA MAKES A SHOW WITH YOU
Wellington
07/03/2021 - 11/03/2021
"Enjoyable in the process but finally inconsequential..
CIRCLE OF LIFE
Wellington
20/10/2020 - 07/03/2021
"Who creates The Creator?..
"Existential entrancement..
FRAMES OF THE CHAOS
Wellington
03/03/2021 - 06/03/2021
"Strangely undramatic – except for the Grandmother’s story..
BIG FOOT
Wellington
02/03/2021 - 06/03/2021
"Childlike coping mechanisms skilfully revisited..
SING TO ME
Palmerston North, Wellington, Auckland
27/02/2021 - 20/05/2021
"Beyond the Pairs of Opposites..
"Attempting to reach an unreachable horizon?..
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CAMPFIRE CALAMITY
Wellington
26/02/2021 - 28/02/2021
"Clear insights into how life can be for teenagers..
