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.
Heath Franklin’s Chopper, The Last Hard Basta*d on Earth
Wellington
16/05/2025 - 16/05/2025
"His minimal physicality and maximal verbosity make for a mind-bending speed-date..
Barnie Duncan – Oooky Pooky
Wellington, Auckland
14/05/2025 - 24/05/2025
"Just froth or an experimental deeper dive into oooky pookiness?..
DELIGHTFOOL
Wellington, Auckland
22/02/2024 - 17/05/2025
"Radiates a sense of joyous camaraderie..
"Delightfully transcends and transforms the personal and global turbulence of our times..
More reviews
RE-ENGINEERED
Wellington
10/05/2025 - 24/05/2025
"Solo work an important play about identity and reinvention..
"Renders personal experience universal, with humour and humanity..
More reviews
Hayley Sproull – The Baroness
Wellington, Auckland
07/05/2025 - 16/05/2025
"A raunchy romp through some high- and low-lights of a strangely relatable life..
Emma Holland – Don't Touch My Trinkets
Wellington, Auckland
06/05/2025 - 10/05/2025
"Cleverly structured show elevates solo comedy to an art form..
Is it off? - Mo Munn
Wellington
07/05/2025 - 10/05/2025
"When Mo is on point, her show goes off in very good way..
Kipling DC – Big Dog
Wellington
07/05/2025 - 10/05/2025
"Energetic, energising, excels at audience engagement..
Itay Dom – Itay Phone Home
Wellington, Auckland
06/05/2025 - 24/05/2025
"Adept at tagging his tales with a twist..
The End of the Golden Weather - 2025
Christchurch
03/05/2025 - 07/06/2025
"Amusing and moving production an inspired choice for the opening of this splendid new theatre..
MĀORI KRISHNA + ALTARNATIVE
Auckland, Whangarei, Wellington
11/09/2024 - 05/04/2025
"Fresh, timely and complementary responses to a timeless quest..
"An immersive, hilarious and unsettling glimpse into the world of cult healing..
More reviews
MACBETH – The Barden Party
Wellington
31/03/2025 - 31/03/2025
"Breathes new life into Shakespeare with boldness, energy and flair..
BLITHE SPIRIT
Wellington
19/03/2025 - 19/04/2025
"Classic ‘Blithe Spirit’ given 1970s twist..
"A timely tonic in these troubled times..
D' Things N Such
Wellington
04/03/2025 - 08/03/2025
"Compelling performers – and three actors in search of a playwright?..
THE KIDS MIGHT DIE (a tale told by an idiot)
Wellington, Nelson
05/03/2025 - 15/03/2025
"Flawless timing, crisp delivery, crafty interplay with the audience..
"Delighted that such talent serves as a salve in this era of idiocy..
Papa
Wellington
03/03/2025 - 05/03/2025
"A modern retelling of Papa and Rā that reflects real-life struggles and celebrates wāhine Māori resilience..
"Wonderfully written, produced and performed mash up of the prosaic, mythical and spiritual..
Don't Look Now
Wellington
28/02/2025 - 28/02/2025
"Allows everyone to feel heard, and may even move some of us on from stuck positions..
In Other Words
Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin
03/09/2024 - 28/03/2025
"Moving testament to love severely tested..
"Performed with technical expertise..
More reviews
How To Art
Auckland, Wellington
12/11/2024 - 01/03/2025
"Offers a great deal more than slip-on-a-banana-skin slapstick..
"Relentlessly funny and splendidly performed by the best bananas in the art business...
Three Feet Under
Wellington
26/02/2025 - 01/03/2025
"Ingenious, volatile, well worth seeing and deserves to rise again..
THERAPY: A Musical Comedy
Wellington
25/02/2025 - 01/03/2025
"A refreshingly insightful, charming, spellbinding comedy..
Edit the Sad Parts - Playreading
Wellington
22/02/2025 - 22/02/2025
"I can’t wait to see this in full production..
Geesebumps
Wellington
21/02/2025 - 23/02/2025
"Admirable skills and fidelity to the genre – but where’s the scares?..
