Review Archive
John C Ross is a retired senior lecturer in English literature ex-Massey University, Palmerston North, and remains an honorary research fellow, writing stuff. Born in Wellington, he caught the theatre-going and amateur acting bug there, mainly while a student at Victoria University.
In 1965 he took a ship to England for one year’s OE, and came back eight years later to the Massey job. In the years in between he acquired a Ph D in English from Birkbeck College, University of London, studying Restoration comedy, and spent about four-and-a-half years as a literature tutor at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama, Sidcup, Kent, plus plenty of travelling-around, tramping, and theatre-going.
Since 1974, John has directed or acted in quite a few plays with Massey Drama Society and Manawatu Theatre Society, and helped front-of-house during Centrepoint Theatre’s earlier years. He has written regular theatre reviews for Act Bulletin, the Sunday Times, the Dominion, the Dominion Post, and, now, Theatreview.
Welcome to the review archive.
Theatre and dance reviews since 2006.
The Tempestuous
Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North
13/06/2023 - 21/04/2024
"Phenomenal energy, vivacity, versatility, inventiveness and humour..
"Wonderful word wrangling and expert audience interaction..
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The Adventures of the White Unicorn
Palmerston North
10/02/2024 - 10/02/2024
"Hugely vivacious and likeable..
Coombe: Inside Me
Palmerston North
10/02/2024 - 10/02/2024
"Often funny, always entertaining..
TIMBERRR…!
Wellington, Palmerston North
08/04/2022 - 13/08/2022
"Assured, successful, warmly recommended..
"Cutting through the blokeish obstacles..
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MIDDLE AGE SPREAD
Palmerston North
09/03/2019 - 14/04/2019
"A good and fresh revival..
FAREWELL MONA LISA!
Palmerston North
13/10/2018 - 13/10/2018
"A happy event..
Alexander Sparrow in BECOMING TRUMP
Wellington, Palmerston North
10/10/2018 - 15/11/2018
"Undoubted skills could better serve a bigger purpose..
"Impressive energy, humour, invention, vocal and body-language versatility..
G+FORCE
Wellington, Palmerston North
28/06/2018 - 09/10/2018
"Sheer chutzpah – brave and enjoyable..
"Seems to have found the sweet spot..
Alexander Sparrow is DJ TRUMP
Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington
24/05/2017 - 07/10/2018
"Irresistible..
"Captivating showmanship in presenting the offensive, confrontational and piteous..
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE
Palmerston North
07/08/2018 - 11/08/2018
"The action moves along well..
CYNTHIA & GERTIE GO BAROQUE!
Palmerston North, Wellington
20/09/2017 - 23/12/2017
"Go for baroque, Kiwi style..
"Funny, frolicking and fabulous..
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HOW I MET MY FATHER
Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North
19/02/2017 - 09/08/2017
"Unvarnished, soul-sharing honesty..
"Impressive guts, flare and skills..
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Alexander Sparrow is DE SADE
Wellington, Auckland, Palmerston North
19/02/2014 - 07/10/2018
"Hilarious and delightful debauchery..
"Very inventive..
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LARGER THAN LIFE an adventure of epic proportions
Palmerston North, Wellington, Auckland
08/06/2017 - 01/07/2017
"A real trip down memory lane..
"Hilarious and poignant cultural, historical and socio-political reverie..
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SCHOOL DANCE
Palmerston North
18/03/2017 - 29/04/2017
"Much ado about not all that much?..
"Laugh-out-loud funny..
THE WINTER’S TALE
Palmerston North
02/03/2017 - 11/03/2017
"A strong team..
"Summer Shakespeare scores with an adventurous outdoor performance..
THE STREAKER
Palmerston North
04/11/2016 - 17/12/2016
"Challenges met with unpredictable twists..
"A romping comedy..
DOUBLE DERELICTS
Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Havelock North, Palmerston North
13/12/2013 - 08/10/2016
"Splendid value..
"No fourth wall in this show..
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WHEN WE DEAD AWAKEN
Wellington, Palmerston North, Dunedin
19/02/2016 - 01/10/2016
"A rarefied atmosphere of psychological and metaphysical intrigue..
"Passion and commitment..
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THE EVENTS
Palmerston North
30/07/2016 - 20/08/2016
"A deeply disturbing yet fine and important play..
A DORIS DAY SPECIAL
Christchurch, Invercargill, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Wellington
24/04/2016 - 14/10/2017
"Beautiful, quirky, gutsy..
"Charming and touching..
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White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Palmerston North
28/05/2016 - 11/06/2016
"Rose to the challenge splendidly..
STAG WEEKEND
Palmerston North
01/04/2016 - 14/05/2016
"A good solid production..
