Former Sydney church turned LGBTQ+ arts venue weighs legal action after landlord orders it to stop ‘offensive trade’

More than 5,000 people have signed a Change.org petition backing Divine Playhouse as an inclusive arts venue. Photograph: Anna Hay View image in fullscreen More than 5,000 people have signed a Change.org petition backing Divine Playhouse as an inclusive arts venue. Photograph: Anna Hay Former Sydney church turned LGBTQ+ arts venue weighs legal action after landlord orders it to stop ‘offensive trade’ Divine Playhouse promoter and founder says venue faces significant operational, legal and financial challenges Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A former church turned arts venue at the centre of a culture war is exploring legal action after receiving a notice from its landlord that forced its organisers to close the space and cancel planned events. Divine Playhouse is facing possible eviction, with its landlord ordering the venue’s organisers, Heaps Gay Events, to stop “engaging in offensive trade”, days after religious groups protested its opening night. The venue is housed inside a former church in Sydney’s central business district, which was deconsecrated during the 1930s and has mostly been a theatre since. The pop-up was intended to act as a safe and inclusive queer-friendly arts space, organisers said. But protesters claimed the venue organisers and LGBTQ+ performances on Wednesday’s opening night were mocking religious faith. In a breach notice seen by Guardian Australia, lawyers acting for the landlord – named in the notice as commercial property group KCSYD Pty Ltd – claimed that “the trade … insulted and mocked the sincerely held religious beliefs of millions of Christian Australians”. The Divine Playhouse promoter and founder of Heaps Gay Events, Kat Dopper, maintained the venue acted in good faith, and remained committed to meeting its obligations as tenants as the organisers explore their legal options. “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,” she said in a statement issued to stakeholders. View image in fullscreen Kat Dopper at the launch of Divine Playhouse. Photograph: Anna Hay “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. “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.” Divine Playhouse is now facing significant operational, legal and financial challenges, Dopper said. During its year-long lease, it was set to support more than 1,500 artists, producers, performers, technicians, small creative businesses and staff, and invest $650,000 into the independent arts sector, according to Heaps Gay Events. Divine Playhouse and Heaps Gay’s social media accounts were taken offline for four days after complaints were made to Meta. Dopper said the accounts, which were reactivated on Wednesday, did not breach community standards. More than 5,000 people have signed a Change.org petition backing Divine Playhouse as an inclusive arts venue. Members of the Christian community first raised concerns over the venue when its original name Unholy Playhouse was revealed. “While causing offence was not our intention, respectfully, we heard those concerns and in good faith promptly made changes prior to opening,” Dopper said in the statement to stakeholders. View image in fullscreen Performers at the opening night of Divine Playhouse. Photograph: Anna Hay It was renamed to Divine Playhouse at the last minute, but that did not stop the furore. After images were published of the opening night, including drag queens dressed as nuns and a performer dressed as a pig offering french fries as holy communion, Christian groups demanded the New South Wales government withdraw a $100,000 grant Divine Playhouse received from the state’s arts agency, Create NSW. A protest led by Catholic men’s group Fit for the Kingdom and Christian brotherhood the Prodigal Sons was set to take place at the location on Friday. In an opinion piece for the Guardian Australia, James Thorpe, the co-chair of the Night Time Industries Association, raised concerns about the issues this campaign raised. “There is a particular cruelty in asking queer culture to make itself smaller to accommodate the sensibilities of people who have spent so long arguing for our erasure,” he wrote. The City of Sydney deputy lord mayor, Jess Miller, who spoke at the opening of Divine Playhouse, continued to back the venue, saying she was concerned by reports that the lease had been terminated. “It’s not my place to decide what is ‘art’, make moral judgements as to what is or isn’t offensive and to whom,” she said in a statement posted to Instagram. “But I am acutely aware of how hard it is to run a business and earn a living as a creative in this city … changing rules on the fly makes it near impossible.” In separate statements, the Prodigal Sons and Fit for the Kingdom told Guardian Australia they were not seeking to silence anyone; instead they wanted to underscore, in the Prodigal Sons’ words, “how deeply this material has wounded a community of faith”. A spokesperson from Fit for the Kingdom decried what it saw as “hateful blasphemy that mocks what we hold most sacred”, listing “performers dressed as nuns waving sex toys” and “drag queens reenacting the birth of Christ” as examples. LGBTQ+ law firm Dowson Turco partner Nicholas Stewart said legal action could have a chilling effect. View image in fullscreen Stereogamous play at the launch of Divine Playhouse. Photograph: Anna Hay “When event companies are not allowed to use spaces because of the potential backlash from groups who claim to be offended, I’m concerned that gives rise to LGBTQ+ events or any other minority groups being forced out of spaces, or not putting their entrepreneurial hats on to pursue spaces for events,” he told the Guardian. Stewart said Heaps Gay’s legal recourse would depend on the terms of their lease and the grounds that the landlord relies on. There may be an argument about what constitutes “offensive” conduct by the tenant and there may even be discrimination law to consider, he said, which might take the parties to the Human Rights Commission.” The NSW premier, Chris Minns, told the Daily Telegraph government officials were investigating the grant application made by the venue’s organisers and said it was “hard to believe” the building was the “best location” for the performances by Divine Playhouse’s artists. The independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich said Sydney needed a wake-up call. “What has happened with ‘Divine Playhouse’ is part of a worrying trend and I’m concerned that Sydney’s reputation is suffering as a global city,” he said. Explore more on these topics Sydney LGBTQ+ rights New South Wales news Share Reuse this content