Divine Playhouse Calls For Community Support After Christian Protest And Eviction Threat

The organisers behind Divine Playhouse have released a statement in response to the eviction notice served by the venue’s landlord in the wake of protests from extremist Christian organisations.

Kat Dopper, a Sydney queer culture icon, who also helms the event Heaps Gay, shared a brief update on the situation as well as asking for practical support from people in the community able to pitch in. This includes financial contribution and signing a petition to keep the venue open.

“Following pre-emptive action taken by our landlord, we have been forced to close the venue and cancel all events, while we explore our legal options regarding the future of the venue. Faced with this situation, our priority has had to be the wellbeing of our artists, audiences, event organisers and staff.”

“As a small creative business, Divine Playhouse is facing significant operational, legal and financial challenges as it navigates this situation,” she said.

“Over the year it looked to support over 1,500 artists, producers, performers, technicians, promoters, small creative businesses, staff, and was to provide substantial investment of over $650,000 into the independent arts sector. Our goal is to minimise the negative impacts for these communities and give Divine Playhouse the best possible chance of reopening and continuing to serve Sydney’s creative sector.”

This comes after Divine Playhouse was forced to cancel all upcoming events after its landlord issued a breach notice following protests from radical Christian groups over performances held at the venue.

“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,” says Dopper.

The venue, located inside a former church building in Sydney’s CBD, opened earlier this month as an arts and nightlife space operated by Heaps Gay Events. The site, which has not operated as a church since it was deconsecrated in the 1930s, was previously used as a theatre and other community spaces.

The venue changed its name from Unholy Playhouse to Divine Playhouse shortly before opening after concerns were raised by members of the Christian community.

Following the venue’s opening night, radical men’s Christian groups including Fit for the Kingdom and the Prodigal Sons held protests outside the building. Around 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.

The landlord issued a breach notice to Heaps Gay Events, claiming the venue was engaging in “offensive trade” and requesting that operations cease. The notice stated that the venue’s activities had attracted public criticism and that future protests could create safety concerns.

Along with the eviction and cancellation of all their events, complaints from Christian activists have led to Meta shutting down all of Divine Playhouse’s social media accounts, as well as personal accounts and all LGBTQIA+ community accounts (including Heaps Gay), following on a reported trend of Meta targeting queer accounts.

 “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.”

The statement ends with a thanks to their legal team, and an apology to all their programmed artists who are now out of work, as well as ticket holders. Updates will be given soon for reimbursements.

“Divine Playhouse was built by artists, for artists, and we remain committed to doing everything we can to reopen our doors and continue supporting Sydney’s creative community for you and our audiences.”

To help, you can donate to support HERE, and sign the petition to keep Divine Playhouse open HERE.