Divine Playhouse has officially closed its venue and cancelled all events as it explores its legal options regarding the future.
Kat Dopper, the founder of Divine Playhouse, provided an update on the situation in an email seen by Gay Sydney Daily.
In it, she revealed that the venue was always meant to be a place for the community to come together but, following the actions of her landlord, she had been forced to close it.
“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.”
Dopper further said she had been silenced by Meta shutting down all of Divine Playhouse’s social media accounts, alongside her own and other LGBTQIA+ community accounts.
The owners of 420 Kent Street, where Divine Playhouse has operated from, are billionaires Anthony El-Hazouri and Charbel Hazzouri, who run Revelop, which owns and manages a portfolio of more than 80 commercial properties.
They sent the breach notice to Heaps Gay Events, which runs Divine Playhouse, the day after opening night on July 9.
It followed protests by conservative Christian groups on opening night and a subsequent petition on Change.org calling on the NSW Government to stop supporting 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,” said Dopper.
El-Hazouri and Hazzouri have been contacted by GSD multiple times but are yet to comment.
Dopper said in her letter to the community that causing offence was never her intention, and that several changes had been made prior to opening, including the venue’s name.
She said the venue was facing significant challenges as it navigates the situation, particularly as Divine Playhouse was looking to support 1,500 artists, producers, performers and more over the next year.
“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,” she wrote.
People who want to support Divine Playhouse can head to a GoFundMe set up by Monica Higgins, attempting to raise $50K.
“More than 180 artists were booked across the first two months alone. The full program was projected to return more than $650,000 directly to artists over the year,” reads the GoFundMe.
“Any funds raised beyond Divine Playhouse’s legal, recovery and relocation costs will be distributed directly to artists included in the program.”
There is also a Change.org petition that people can sign to support Divine Playhouse, which at time of writing has more than 4,500 signatures.
“To our programmed artists and everyone involved, we are deeply sorry this is happening to you too. 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,” said Dopper.
“These past eight days have been a powerful reminder of why this project exists and why spaces like this matter. We will continue to keep you updated as developments occur.”
