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.
STANDARD ACTS
Auckland, Wellington
18/02/2021 - 13/03/2021
"Classic Drama with Bubbles..
"For Women to wrestle with…..
More reviews
THE SECRET LIVES OF SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD GIRLS
Wellington
17/02/2021 - 13/11/2021
"Fun, human and confronting..
"An insightful play that everyone should see..
WILL ON CUE
Wellington
11/02/2021 - 27/02/2021
"Relishing resonant classics..
THE MOST PLEASURABLE CABLE CAR RIDE YOU'VE EVER HAD
Wellington
10/02/2021 - 14/02/2021
"What do we expect?..
BORDERS AND MARGINS
Wellington
04/02/2021 - 13/02/2021
"Visual and aural aesthetics impressive but playwright’s purpose a puzzle..
THE OLDER THE BETTER
Wellington
03/12/2020 - 20/12/2020
"Women only get better with age..
"An exceptional and exemplary event..
PEER GYNT
Wellington
17/11/2020 - 21/11/2020
"Captures the essence of a timeless tale..
CINDERELLA The Pantomime
Wellington
14/11/2020 - 16/01/2021
"A rollicking night out for all the family..
"Long may they continue..
GIRL IN THE LOFT
Wellington
05/11/2020 - 14/11/2020
"Personal take on slice of London theatre history endearing and wonderfully executed..
"Captures an unusual life-to-date..
I Know What I’m Doing
Auckland, Wellington
25/02/2020 - 31/10/2020
"But now I’ve thought about it ... Wow..
"Come for the laughs, stay for the charm, leave and think deeply...
KA-SHUE (Letters Home)
Havelock North, Wellington, Gisborne
24/10/2020 - 20/10/2021
"Moving, thoughtful and provocative..
"Distils complex elements of epic proportions into a potent liqueur..
ONE OF THOSE
Wellington
21/10/2020 - 21/10/2020
"Compels our empathy and earns the pathos..
BATCH
Wellington
20/10/2020 - 24/10/2020
"Skilled renditions from potent works..
DI AND VIV AND ROSE
Wellington, Dunedin
16/10/2020 - 22/11/2020
"Celebrate the goddess within!..
"Twists and turns of life-enriching relationships explored and celebrated..
CALL IT A NIGHT
Auckland, Global
20/09/2020 - 20/09/2020
"An existential threat becomes an existential treat..
"A thought-provoking, beautifully crafted, meta-theatrical conceit..
THE EUTHANASIA DEBATE
Global
29/08/2020 - 17/10/2020
"Episode 3: the Pros and Cons of Euthanasia..
"Episode Two: WELCOME TO THE DEATH CAFÉ..
More reviews
THE CHOSEN ONES
Global
03/09/2020 - 06/09/2020
"Gotta love this upside-down colonialisation+genocide yarn..
"Packs a punch as we laugh out loud..
PLAY
Wellington
04/09/2020 - 12/09/2020
"Entertaining but ultimately unsatisfying..
"It’s the truth at is heart that makes Play real..
RAPUNZEL
Wellington
29/08/2020 - 29/08/2020
"Captures the zeitgeist of this time..
PSA: ELECTION 2020
Wellington
22/08/2020 - 18/09/2020
"Welcome satirical levity in testing times..
ATTENBOROUGH'S QUESTION
Nelson
21/08/2020 - 25/08/2020
"Well worth addressing..
