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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.

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Before We Slip Beneath the Sea

Wellington

12/10/2024 - 20/10/2024

"An absorbing and salutary experience..

Meet the Filipinos

Wellington

11/10/2024 - 11/10/2024

"A refreshing boost of creative energy..

There Used to Be Magic, Once

Wellington

10/10/2024 - 10/10/2024

"Improv meets TTRPG..

"Just gives us the concept of a plan for performance..

All Aboard!

Wellington

08/10/2024 - 08/10/2024

"The creative alchemy of improv is alive and pumping at BATS..

and the Lochburns

Wellington

05/10/2024 - 02/11/2024

"Stylistically exciting and refreshing..

Between Friends

Wellington

04/10/2024 - 04/10/2024

"A splendid appetiser to the feast of Improv Festival fare to come..

Disaster

Wellington

02/10/2024 - 06/10/2024

"Is it profound or just a game? Either way it’s absorbing...

Tangihanga

Wellington, Rotorua, Whangarei, Auckland, Hastings

28/08/2024 - 25/10/2024

"Caricatures germinated from kernels of truth that shine from within..

"This performance isn’t just a tribute to Māori ritual—it’s a living, breathing extension of it...

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The Body Politic

Wellington

24/08/2024 - 21/09/2024

"Those bells do toll – and they toll for us all..

HAMLET: One Hour

Wellington

21/08/2024 - 25/08/2024

"May well achieve its avowed objectives as the season progresses..

Leave 'em Laughing

Wellington

27/07/2024 - 17/08/2024

"Entertaining mix of solo-singing and storytelling..

"Relatable, heart-warming and hilarious..

Sense and Sensibility

Wellington

06/07/2024 - 03/08/2024

"Skilful social satire entertains at multiple levels..

Heartbreak Hotel

Hastings, Wellington

26/10/2023 - 23/06/2024

"Heartbreak captivatingly explored with humanity, humour and songs..

"Nuanced and powerful; hilarious, heartwarming and moving. You won’t leave heartbroken ..

FWB: Friends With Boundaries

Wellington

11/06/2024 - 15/06/2024

"A revelatory snapshot of midlife desires, disappointments and delight..

Puka

Wellington

21/05/2024 - 25/05/2024

"Throwaway lines have the impact of comedic depth charges ..

Transmission: Beta

Wellington

18/05/2024 - 15/06/2024

"Living inside history: a chic and powerful success..

"Play offers window into unprocessed pandemic memories..

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Ivan Aristeguieta - Too Easy

Wellington

14/05/2024 - 15/05/2024

"Weaves multiple threads with consummate skill..

LIGHT CYCLES

Wellington

11/05/2024 - 09/06/2024

"Wondrous, entrancing and delightful (or should that be enlightful?)..

Tough Tiger Fist – Star-Crossed Brothers

Wellington

07/05/2024 - 11/05/2024

"Tough Tiger Fist deliver a manic good time..

"Like a couple of seven-year-olds putting on a show at a family gathering..

Jerome Chandrahasen ON WORDS

Wellington

07/05/2024 - 11/05/2024

"A phatic fifty minutes of social commentary..

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Live on Stage

Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch

23/04/2024 - 19/05/2024

"Ensemble work makes this Exotic production sing..

"A satirically amusing socio-political commentary..

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End of Summer Time

Wellington

04/05/2024 - 09/06/2024

"Rutherford superb in latest play in ‘Dickie’ saga..

"Amusement, laughter, gasps and ‘oof’s at the slings and arrows launched by life..

DOOM & BLOOM: CONTROVERSY

Wellington

12/04/2024 - 12/04/2024

"They cleverly conjure a tragi-comic blend of deep humanity and topical satire..

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