Just one week after officially opening its doors, Sydney live music venue Divine Playhouse has been forced to close.
Located in Sydney’s Kent Street, the heritage-listed building – once a church – was repurposed to become “a community centre for Sydney.
Operated by Heaps Gay Events, Divine Playhouse (previously called Unholy Playhouse before a last-minute change following concerns from the Christmas community) opened last Wednesday (July 8th) with the intention of being a safe and inclusive space — particularly for the LGBTQIA+ community — where artists, performers, and audiences could come together through culture, creativity, and connection.
Following the venue’s opening night, Christian groups including Fit for the Kingdom and the Prodigal Sons held protests outside the building. Per Star Observer, 70 people attended a gathering opposing the venue’s programming and called for the withdrawal of a $100,000 Create NSW grant awarded to support the project.
Now, only a week later, the venue has been forced to close, after “pre-emptive action” taken by its landlord. In a leaked breach notice, seen by Rolling Stone AU/NZ, it was ordered to “cease engaging in offensive trade”.
According to the notice, Divine Playhouse “insulted and mocked the sincerely held religious beliefs of millions of Christian Australians” and was given two days to cease operation.
“We note that the trade carried on by HG Events has been the subject of significant protest and public criticism, given its offensive nature,” the notice reads.
“Such offensive trade has caused, and will continue to cause, grievance and disturbance to owners of adjoining properties and to the general public.
“In circumstances where future public protests are almost certain to occur and are likely to endanger members of the public, our client considers that the time by which the offensive trade is to cease is reasonable.”
In a statement, Divine Playhouse’s Kat Dopper said: “We strongly believe we have acted in good faith throughout this whole process and remain committed to meeting our obligations as Tenants and working towards a constructive resolution.
“The arts have always been a place where people ask difficult questions, challenge ideas and use humour, satire and performance to reflect on the world around us. Not every work will resonate with every person, but the freedom to make and experience art is part of what makes an open, creative and democratic society.”
According to Dopper’s statement, Meta has also shut down all of Divine Playhouse’s social media accounts, as well as personal accounts and all LGBTQIA+ community accounts (including Heaps Gay).
“As a small independent organisation that has built and communicated online with our communities and ticket holders for over 13 years, losing access to them and being silenced makes this situation even more difficult.”
Despite the setback, Dopper said the venue’s priority has had to be “the wellbeing of our artists, audiences, event organisers and staff” as it works through its legal options. The team behind Divine Playhouse also thanked its lawyers, who “came on board quickly and worked tirelessly” to support the venue through the process.
Ticket holders will be contacted directly by event organisers regarding cancelled events.
Divine Playhouse returns online
After regaining their online accounts after four days, Dopper shared a statement on Divine Playhouse’s IG explaining what has happened and what supporters can do to help.
“Divine Playhouse was created with a simple purpose: to provide a space where artists, performers, audiences and communities can come together through culture, creativity and connection. That purpose has not changed,” the statement began.
“Just one week ago, Divine Playhouse opened its doors for the first time. Representing months of work and substantial resources to create a one-year culture space. Countless hours from artists, staff, volunteers and supporters fed a shared belief that Sydney deserves more places where creativity, culture and community can thrive.
“Following pre-emptive action taken by our landlord, we have been forced to close the venue and postpone events for now, while we explore our legal options regarding the future of the venue. Faced with this situation, our priority has to be the wellbeing of our artists, audiences, event organisers and staff.”
You can read the full IG statement below:
In a statement sent to Rolling Stone AU/NZ, City of Sydney’s Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller said: “I am concerned by reports that the lease that enabled temporary adaptive re-use of 420 Kent Street (which was a church almost 100 years ago, and has been a theatre for 80) into a pop-up performance space was terminated by the landlord.
“It’s not my place to decide what is ‘art’ make moral judgements as to what is or isn’t offensive and to whom. But I am very sympathetic to those whose livelihoods are directly and seriously affected by this abrupt decision.”
Supporters are urged to speak out about the closure and are encouraged to donate to its ongoing legal costs and sign the petition to keep Divine Playhouse open, which can be found in the link in bio of its official Instagram account.
This was originally published on Rolling Stone Australia.
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