NAT has an ever-changing line up; that’s the beauty of having an open-access theatre venue! See what your favourite performers are up to and discover new artists, by checking here regularly. NAT doesn’t pre-programme seasons, so this is where you can see what we have going on. We have a bar open from 1 hourish before the show, and you are welcome to take your drinks into the theatre (there’s no BYO!)
Octagon Collective Presents: April Poetry Reading with Teoti Jardine and Natasha Hope-Johnston, and Open Mic!
Weds 8 April, 7pm
FREE entry!
Bar open from 6pm
Please join us on Wednesday April 8th 2026 for another session of The Octagon Poetry Collective’s monthly readings. Featured guests for this month are Teoti (Shorty) Jardine and Natasha Hope-Johnstone, with our Mac as MC.
We will run our usual open mic, so please bring one poem if you wish to read, and see Mac on the night to sign up.
Attendance is FREE, but if you have the means please support our co-hosts by purchasing refreshments during the evening.
We are a hate-free zone and decry any bigotry, hate speech, transphobia, homophobia, or racism – bring only your creativity and community spirit.
—
Natasha Hope-Johnston calls three towns home: Rosyth,
Scotland; Canberra, Australia; and Invercargill, New Zealand.
Natasha has been writing poetry since she was sixteen but has
only become comfortable reading it to an audience over the
last five years. She credits that to the opportunities provided
by the Octagon Collective.
Her poetry incorporates issues of socialism, poverty, death
and queerness. Her work has been featured in the Otago Daily Times, The Socialist Review and at Badapple.gay.
Outside of poetry, her writing for the most part consists of
fanfiction, socialist talks and discussions.
+
Teoti Jardine is Maori, Irish and Scottish. His tribal
affiliations are Waitaha, Kati Mamoe, Kai Tahu.
In 1965, at the age of twenty, because he was not feeling very
safe being a Queer in Invercargill, he left home to find a safe
place where he could be true to himself. That safe place
turned out to be Montreal. He joined the Gay Community and did all the things they did in the ‘60s and survived.
Teoti attended the Hagley Writers School in 2011. His poetry has been published in the Christchurch Press, London Grip, Te Karaka, Ora Nui, Catalyst, JAAM and Aotearotica Vol 3, and has short stories in Flash Frontier.
He was the Guest Editor for the Pasifika Issue of Flash Frontier March 2018.
He and his dog Amie live in Riverton on the beautiful
southern coast of New Zealand.
—
Your Collective committee:
Jackson
Mac MacDonald
Jasmine Taylor
Nicola Thorstensen
Ben Wilmot
Sophia Wilson
Prince of the Psychiatric System
FRI 22 May, SAT 23 May, 7pm
SUN 24 May, 2pm
Tickets: $25 HERE
On sale 6 April!!
‘Prince of the Psychiatric System’ is a true-life story written by Dunedin resident Haki S Davis, a Dunedin playwright and poet, in 2021. The play highlights lived experience in the New Zealand mental health system. The first performance of the play was met with success, and it has now been revised and edited by Haki with substantial changes made based on feedback from the audience.
‘Prince of the Psychiatric System’ is a powerful, original stage play that explores the inner world of a patient navigating life inside a psychiatric ward in Ōtepoti. Blending lived experience with elements of surrealism and allegory, the play invites audiences deep into the mind of DeArk – a character experiencing schizophrenia, paranoia, religious delusion, and grandiose thinking – while confronting the stigma and side effects of mental health treatment.
Guided by the invisible presence of Pinocchio, an audible voice only he can hear, DeArk embarks on a profound psychological and spiritual journey. Pinocchio does not heal through pills, or diagnosis but through radical empathy, imagination, and challenge. He helps DeArk find pathways toward dignity, insight, and self-worth—not by erasing the illness, but by learning to live with it constructively.
With moments of absurdity, tragedy, and deep human truth, ’Prince of the Psychiatric System’ critiques the limits of conventional psychiatric care while honouring the resilience of those who endure it. The work confronts the uneasy balance between medical treatment and personal agency, asking timely questions about what it truly means to be well.
Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes
OCTAGON COLLECTIVE Poetry Night – 2nd Wednesday of the month, 7pm
FREE poetry readings – special guest artists, and open mic.
MONTHLY, WEDNESDAYS - STARTS FEB 11TH!
7PM
Bar from 6pm – no BYO
Returning 2026 – mark your calendars!
Octagon Poetry: 11/2, 11/3, 8/4, 13/5, 10/6, 8/7, 12/8, 9/9, 14/10, 11/11, 9/12
Femme: 14/2,
Improsaurus:
Keep an eye out for dates to be confirmed, and mark your diaries 🙂
New Athenaeum Theatre 