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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!)

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Divorced Dad 83 wants you to feel professional, connected and on the path to wealth just as he aims to be.  Expect confident advice, deep wisdom, and moments of clarity about how you can invest more time into becoming more similar to him.

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Please join us for another session of The Octagon Poetry Collective’s monthly readings on Wednesday May 13th! Featured guests for this month are Tunmise Adebowale and Eliana Gray with our Nicola 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.
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Tunmise Adebowale is a Nigerian-born New Zealander. Her work has been published in Starling, Landfall, The Big Idea, Arts Makers Aotearoa, Mayhem Literary Journal, The Spinoff, Tarot Poetry Journal, takahē, The Pantograph Punch, Turbine | Kapohau, Newsroom, NZ Poetry Shelf, Verb Wellington, and ReDraft. She writes the Substack ‘whispers of oizys’.

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Eliana Gray is a writer living in ōtepoti. Their poetry, essays, art criticism and reviews have been widely published and anthologized in Aotearoa and internationally, in places such as: the spinoff, cordite, landfall, Overland, art news Aotearoa and the pantograph punch. They have held residencies in Ōtepoti, Finland and online. They were a co-founder and facilitator of the Ōtepoti Writers Lab. They now run a regular series of writing workshops called, Nest; mentor emerging authors, including February’s featured reader John Russell Hodge; and are in process of organising a new writing workshop series in collaboration with UNESCO City of literature and the Athenaeum library. Their first poetry collection, eager to break, was published by Australian publisher Girls on key press in 2019. They are probably almost finished with their second.

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Your Collective committee:
Jackson
Mac MacDonald
Jasmine Taylor
Nicola Thorstensen
Ben Wilmot
Sophia Wilson 

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Improsaurus Presents: We’re Going on an Improv Hunt! We’re putting on an improv show. We’re going to do a good one.

Come along 15 May 8pm at the New Athenaeum Theatre.

Tickets $15/$20 at the door – box office opens 7:30pm

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Join us for the 15th volume of Femme, showcasing an amazing lineup of performers, including special guests BONITA DANGER DOLL ( Ōtautahi | Christchurch), THE GOLDEN DIAMONDS( Ōtautahi | Christchurch), ZESTY and TESSA MOTION, your host the Matriarch of Ōtepoti drag ANN ARKII! Alongside your favorite local burlesque stars!

This is a show you won’t want to miss, and it’s bound to sell out fast! So gather your gals, guys, gays, and theys, and secure your tickets for the hottest show in town 

 Dress to impress!
 R18 (contains nudity, strong language, and adult themes)

Wheel chair accessible

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‘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

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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, 16/5, 22/8, 31/10, 12/12
Improsaurus: 24/4, 15/5, 29/5, 12/6, 28/8, 18/9, 2/10, 16/10, 30/10

Keep an eye out for dates to be confirmed, and mark your diaries 🙂