Sydney is, once again, cutting Footloose.<\/p>\n
Barely a week after opening its doors inside a 150-year-old deconsecrated church, the Emerald City\u2019s new queer arts and nightlife venue Divine Playhouse <\/a>has been forced to close and cancel its entire program following backlash from conservative Christian groups.<\/p>\n \u201cOffence cannot become a mechanism for eviction\u201d<\/p>\n Because apparently Sydney\u2019s latest threat to public order isn\u2019t its chronic shortage of creative spaces, crushing cost of living or enduring dependence on pokies. It\u2019s drag nuns?<\/p>\n The pop-up venue, operated by Heaps Gay<\/a> inside the former Genesian Theatre on Kent Street, received a breach notice from its landlord ordering it to \u201ccease carrying on offensive trade\u201d or risk having its lease terminated.<\/p>\n Divine Playhouse has now shut its doors while organisers explore their legal options.<\/p>\n \u201cFollowing pre-emptive action taken by our landlord, we have been forced to close the venue and cancel all events,\u201d organisers said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cOur priority has had to be the wellbeing of our artists, audiences, event organisers and staff.\u201d<\/p>\n The closure follows protests outside the venue\u2019s opening night last Wednesday, 8th July, when around 70 people from Catholic and other Christian groups gathered to oppose its programming.<\/p>\n Critics accused the venue of mocking their faith through religiously inspired satire, including performers dressed as nuns, its \u201cUnholy Water\u201d house drink and an event titled Sunday Mess \u2013 An Unholy Brunch Party: The Resurrection.<\/p>\n That\u2019s despite the building having been deconsecrated in 1932 and operating primarily as a theatre and community space for a casual seven decades.<\/p>\n Importantly, organisers had already attempted to address the criticism before opening. The original name, Unholy Playhouse, was changed to Divine Playhouse, while religious references were adjusted after concerns were raised.<\/p>\n Apparently those concessions weren\u2019t enough though.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Divine Playhouse said.<\/p>\n \u201cNot 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.\u201d<\/p>\n And that\u2019s the genuinely troubling part of this whole saga. People are, of course, entitled to dislike a piece of art. They can criticise it, protest it, pray outside it or go home and watch something else.<\/p>\n What they should not be able to do is transform their personal offence into an effective veto over which artists are permitted to work and which communities are allowed to occupy space in Sydney.<\/p>\n As Night Time Industries Association vice-chair James Thorpe put it: \u201cOffence cannot become a mechanism for eviction\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it can, every artist who challenges power is vulnerable, as is every comedian who mocks a sacred cow and every queer space that refuses to make itself polite and palatable.\u201d<\/p>\n FYI, the closure has wiped out far more than a few cheekily named parties.<\/p>\n Divine Playhouse had planned to support more than 1,500 artists, producers, technicians, promoters, performers, staff and small creative businesses across its residency, investing an estimated $650,000 into Sydney\u2019s independent arts sector.<\/p>\n City of Sydney Deputy Lord Mayor Jess Miller has also pointed out that the city\u2019s creative economy is worth around $14 billion.<\/p>\n In other words, this wasn\u2019t merely a naughty cabaret making jokes inside an old church.<\/p>\n It was jobs. Performances. Commissions. Rehearsals. Audiences. New work. A place for emerging artists to try something strange without first demonstrating its profitability to a multinational entertainment company.<\/p>\n You know, culture.<\/p>\n Sydney should understand the value of such spaces better than almost anywhere. This is a city whose nightlife and live music ecosystem is still recovering from years of lockout laws, liquor restrictions, curfews, noise complaints, policing, COVID shutdowns and regulatory settings that repeatedly treated dancing, amplified music and spontaneous human enjoyment like suspicious activities requiring immediate containment.<\/p>\n For years, artists and venue operators were told Sydney wanted its nightlife back.<\/p>\n But apparently there were conditions: it can be vibrant, but not confronting. Diverse, but not too loud. Queer, provided nobody gets offended. Artistic, so long as nobody powerful feels uncomfortable.<\/p>\n Support has now poured in from artists, community groups and politicians, with Sydney MP Alex Greenwich describing the closure as part of a broader, worrying pattern of attacks against the city\u2019s queer community.<\/p>\n \u201cQueer-led businesses are part of Sydney\u2019s cultural and economic infrastructure,\u201d Pride Business Association president Jarrod Lomas said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey create jobs, commission artists, engage local suppliers, bring people into our precincts and give communities places to gather.\u201d<\/p>\n Greens arts spokesperson Cate Faehrmann has also called on the Minns Government to defend the venue and the LGBTQIA+ community against what she described as \u201cmanufactured outrage from dangerous conservative activists who want to police what art can exist and who gets to belong in our city\u201d.<\/p>\n Now, the community is preparing to answer back.<\/p>\n Pride in Protest has organised a snap rally outside Divine Playhouse at 420 Kent Street from 5.30pm this Friday, 17 July, inviting supporters to bring instruments, their \u201cgayest outfit\u201d and as many friends as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cFar-right Christian bigots are trying to censor queer and trans art \u2013 we won\u2019t stand for it,\u201d organisers said.<\/p>\n \u201cJoin us on Friday for a snap action to wash away their hate preaching in a wave of music, queer joy and community love.\u201d<\/p>\n Divine Playhouse is also seeking practical and financial support as it navigates the legal and operational fallout, with a petition launched calling for the venue to be allowed to reopen.<\/p>\n Sydney spent years being mocked internationally as a city where dancing was regulated, festivals were choked out<\/a> and a venue\u2019s entire livelihood could be threatened over a single 7pm noise complaint<\/a>, or disco ball<\/a> or band with too many members.<\/a><\/p>\n It now has a chance to prove it learned something.<\/p>\n Further Reading<\/p>\n A 150-Year-Old Sydney Church Is Being Reborn As A Wild New Live Music Venue<\/a><\/p>\n