John Banas

The Hannah acknowledges the passing of creative innovator John Banas in November 2025.

John Banas was a well-known screenwriter in his later career, and was Downstage’s Artistic Director 1982–1984; the fourth person to hold this position in The Hannah as she stands today. 

John performed in many productions prior to his time as AD, including America Hurrah (shown in the photo below), and wrote several new New Zealand plays which were performed at The Hannah. 

His legacy as AD includes the co-founding of a two-week music festival Hannah Goes Alternative with Chris Prowse, with acts including the Topp Twins and Rodger Fox Big Band, and co-writing and co-directing an extended season of Full Marx which attracted significant acclaim and a total audience of 12,140 people.

John’s association with the Hannah Playhouse is well documented in the book “Downstage Upfront” written by John Smythe, including a mention of his silver-themed 1979 production dubbed “Macbeth Galactica”!