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.
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?..
The Fabulous Fabelinskys
Wellington
19/02/2025 - 22/02/2025
"Lives up to its name in unexpected ways, both comically and dramatically..
TRANSHUMANCE
Wellington
08/03/2020 - 21/02/2025
"Existential encounters with destiny that are a delight to behold..
"Delicate yet muscular..
More reviews
The Last Crime
Wellington
14/02/2025 - 16/02/2025
"Ambitious production elicits enthusiastic responses..
This Wasn't The Plan
Wellington
14/02/2025 - 12/09/2025
"Solo show a masterclass in storytelling..
"Perfectly pitched in style, content and musicality..
Hope
Wellington
25/01/2025 - 23/02/2025
"Brilliant ‘Hope’ cast leave us with hope..
"Riddled with humour amid challenging moral dilemmas, it deserves a very long life..
The King In Yellow
Wellington
11/12/2024 - 23/02/2025
"Inside that chrysalis there is surely a beautiful scary butterfly yearning to be free..
"Lots to work on in the process of bringing it to next year’s Fringe..
High School (The Improvised) Musical
Wellington
19/11/2024 - 23/11/2024
"Well-tuned with a flair for spontaneous creativity..
Sleeping Beauty: The Pantomime
Wellington
16/11/2024 - 11/01/2025
"Sleeping Beauty brings time warps and twists..
"Brings a fresh approach to an age-old and much-loved tradition..
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – Pop-up Globe
Auckland, Wellington
22/10/2024 - 16/11/2024
"‘Boisterous enthusiasm’: Pop-up Globe’s crowd-pleasing A Midsummer Night's Dream..
"Gives our attentiveness, empathy and imaginations free rein..
More reviews
The Tempestuous
Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington, Dunedin
13/06/2023 - 06/12/2025
"A torrential storm of talent, with lightning flashes of dazzling wit..
"Ashton conjures a tale that’s as salutary as it is richly entertaining..
More reviews
The Kingdom of Bling
Auckland, Wellington
22/10/2024 - 22/10/2024
"A salutary and timely folk tale plus random fandom..
"A truly original experience hosted by a great entertainer..
More reviews
DAWN RAIDS
Auckland, Wellington
18/08/2022 - 24/10/2024
"The impact of the Dawn Raids, laid bare through lives of one Pasifika family..
"A classic that needs to be seen by every generation of New Zealanders..
More reviews
Before We Slip Beneath the Sea
Wellington, Palmerston North
12/10/2024 - 12/07/2025
"Heartfelt and political, moving and engrossing – truly immersive..
"An absorbing and salutary experience..
Meet the Filipinos
Wellington
11/10/2024 - 11/10/2024
"A refreshing boost of creative energy..
