Divine Playhouse’s lease has been officially terminated by billionaire property developers citing a law dating back to the 1800s.
Divine Playhouse has been given a few days to de-install and vacate 420 Kent Street following the notice from Revelop.
“It’s over. Our lease terminated, our artists cancelled, our venue being cleared out,” said Divine Playhouse founder Kat Dopper.
“We believe this termination was unlawful and unjust. I am devastated. I am angry, for us, for our artists, for this city and its people.”
Dopper said the space was created as a critical new cultural home, and it was now sitting empty.
“That’s freedom of expression in Australia right now: some voices get amplified, others get evicted. In this case it feels like bigotry masquerading as moral victory,” said Dopper.
The venue was opened on July 8 by Dopper, who is also the founder of Heaps Gay, and was met with Christian backlash.
On July 9, the landlords, Anthony El-Hazouri and Charbel Hazzouri, sent a breach notice to Dopper through their lawyers, citing clause 8.1(14) of the lease, which “expressly prohibits HG Events from carrying on offensive trade.”
Specifically, the breach notice alleges the offensive trade arose because the venue “insulted and mocked the sincerely held religious beliefs of millions of Christian Australians.”
Professor Cathy Sherry from Macquarie Law School told Gay Sydney Daily that the term “offensive trade” was introduced to law to combat smells from things like abattoirs from being opened in the city.
“People could open an abattoir or a tannery next to you, I cannot begin to tell you how offensive those smells are so that was to try and stop those kinds of things happening in the city,” she said.
However it has not been extended to include “moral” offensiveness and is something that could be challenged in a court.
“I think the legal argument is absolutely up for grabs and whether the words ‘offensive’ means morally offensive but also whether what they’re doing is in fact offensive, even if it does cover morality,” she said.
Dopper said this wasn’t a case of Divine Playhouse versus Revelop, but that it was much bigger than that.
“If a landlord’s personal beliefs can shut down an arts venue, no stage in this country is safe. Who decides what art is acceptable? Right now, the answer is whoever owns the building,” she said.
“That’s why we’re fighting this, not just for Divine Playhouse, but for you.”
Last Friday night, 70 Christian protesters led by groups including Prodigal Sons and Fit For The Kingdom held a “prayer vigil” outside 420 Kent Street.
On social media, the group said they were protesting the venue because they believed it was “hateful mockery, expressly and specifically targeted at Jesus and the Catholic Church.”
A counter-protest by the LGBTQIA+ community was postponed for safety reasons, with organisers Pride in Protest saying they had “received intel that the NSW Police are supporting the far-right protest.”
Instead, a rally is being organised for this Saturday, July 25, at 12pm at Hyde Park for a peaceful “sing-in” protest.
“This Saturday’s rally isn’t just about one venue. It’s about the future of arts and culture in New South Wales and who gets to decide it. They can sing? Well, we can sing louder. Divine will rise again,” said Dopper.
It comes as the community continues to rally around Dopper and the venue, with over 17,000 people signing a petition to keep Divine Playhouse open, while over $31,000 has been raised to help fight back.
A fundraiser show is also being planned to get the cancelled artists back on stage and paid.
Gay Sydney Daily contacted Revelop for comment who did did not respond.
