John Banas was a creative force in Wellington’s professional theatre scene before coming one of the country’s most respected screenwriters. Raised in England and Taranaki, Banas had a knack for comedy and emerged alongside John Clarke, a friend and collaborator: Banas was one of the "Trevs" who appeared alongside Clarke’s Fred Dagg character. Banas acted at Wellington’s Downstage Theatre and rose to become a sometimes controversial artistic director whose productions could polarise audiences. After writing 20 hours of radio drama, Banas began capitalising on the burgeoning NZ screen renaissance of the 1980s. He wrote for drama series
The Immigrants, police drama
Mortimer’s Patch and medical drama In
Their Hands. He then moved to Australia, writing for shows such as
Blue Heelers,
Water Rats,
All Saints, and
City Homicide. Banas was not entirely lost to New Zealand though, taking on special projects such as 2012 tele-movie
Siege, and
Underbelly New Zealand: Land of the Long Green Cloud. In 2024, he created and co-wrote the series
A Remarkable Place To Die, a crime drama set in Queenstown. John Banas died on November 3. — Agencies/Allied Media
