Phillip Mann was one of the country's major theatre influences and a prominent author. Photo: Supplied / Facebook
Writer and director Phillip Mann, a major contributor to the development of New Zealand theatre, has died in Wellington.
Mann, 80, died Thursday, his family said in a statement.
Mann was the founding teacher at the country's first university drama department, at Victoria University Te Herenga Waka in 1970.
RNZ interviewed Phillip Mann in 2013
He was also a leading theatre director, directing premieres of work by Vincent O'Sullivan, Renee and Greg McGee, as well as scores of contemporary and classic plays and operas.
Authors and others throughout Aotearoa paid tribute to Mann on social media, including Green Party co-leader James Shaw.
Mann was the author of 11 science fiction novels and also wrote extensively for radio and theatre.
His book The Disestablishment of Paradise was shortlisted for the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award, and he was an Honorary Fellow of the New Zealand Society of Authors, and Patron of the Phoenix Science Fiction Society.
In 2017, Mann was awarded a New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to theatre and literature.
Phillip Mann reads from his work 'Wulfsyarn'
This audio is not downloadable due to copyright restrictions.
He recently celebrated his 80th birthday at Te Whaea, New Zealand Schools of Dance and Theatre, with the launch of his last novel Chevalier & Gawayn: The Ballad of the Dreamer.
"He was so happy to have made his 80th birthday and see his last book launched," his family said on his Facebook page.