Divine Playhouse lease cancelled under obscure 18th century law
Organizers of an LGBTQ Sydney nightclub housed in a deconsecrated 158-year-old church say they were evicted from the venue citing an obscure “offensive trading” law used to regulate bad smells and industrial waste and are not ruling out legal action.
The lease of the Divine Playhouse on Kent Street in the Sydney CBD has been officially terminated via an obscure NSW law from 1842 that its lawyers say was never extended to cover “moral” aggression. This was said to have caused “complaints and inconvenience to adjoining property owners and the general public”.
This potentially sets the stage for a legal dispute over the validity of commercial tenant evictions and action through the Anti-Discrimination Act.
Divine Playhouse (renamed Unholy Playhouse) has received a $100,000 grant from Create NSW to deliver a four-month creative revival and multi-disciplinary arts festival. It sparked a reaction from Christian groups Those who claim that some events are intended to ridicule or demean their beliefs.
The events group now has until 5 p.m. Wednesday to remove the industrial bar fridges, flooring, artwork, customized signage and other work they did at the vacant heritage site at 420 Kent Street.
Kat Dopper, founder of Divine Playhouse and HG Events, confirmed it is looking for a new home and called on all developers, landowners and private space owners to step forward with something unique.
“If a host’s personal beliefs can shut down an arts venue, no stage in this country is safe,” Dopper said in a statement. “Who decides what art is acceptable? The answer right now is who owns the building.”
Michael Bradley, managing partner of Marque Lawyers, which represents evicted tenants, said the grounds for eviction were unprecedented.
“A standard clause in a commercial lease states that a party cannot engage in offensive trading,” he said. “The Transmission Act adds meaning to this term and gives it further meaning. The historical roots of this term go back to the Public Health Act for England, which discussed offensive trading in the context of slaughterhouses and other trades that pose public health risks. It has developed in modern law, but as far as we can see, no one has argued that it extends to this area of the morally offensive.”
Bradley said the landlord’s lawyers were Sydney-based property investment trust KCSYD Pty Ltd.terminated HG’s lease on July 15, claiming that the tenant could not engage in “offensive trading”. He said the landlord’s lawyers stated that HG’s activities caused “complaints and inconvenience to adjoining property owners and the general public.”
“’Your client does not seem to understand that the trade being carried out and proposed to be carried on insults and mocks the sincerely held religious beliefs of millions of Christian Australians,’” Bradley wrote.
Macquarie University’s Australian land law expert Professor Cathy Sherry said the case presented a difficult dilemma for liberal democracies.
“It’s important that we are tolerant of viewpoints, including views with which we strongly disagree. We don’t actually want to go down that path; it’s not a pleasant path. When you’re given a lease, you’re given private property and you’re generally free to do things as long as they don’t damage the property, aren’t illegal, or jeopardize your homeowner’s insurance, but it’s unusual for landlords to moderate viewpoints. There’s a need to moderate public expression, whether you’re the landlord, the neighbor, or the municipality.”
Dopper said he fought for Divine Playhouse and “every artist, every show, every venue, every ensemble, every collective, every expression of unconventional or disturbing ideas that might come next.”
“We’re not walking away.
“To anyone with a unique space: You don’t just offer us a home. You provide the lifeblood for the future of this city’s independent arts and cultural communities.”
Supporters of Divine Playhouse are planning to hold a ‘singing in’ protest in Hyde Park on Saturday and have so far raised $36,000 in crowdfunding for its campaign.
Two days ago Christian protester Chris Nave announced that he had more than 6,000 signatures for his online petition calling for an end to government support and ensuring taxpayers’ money is never used to support projects that mock or disparage any religion.
“This campaign has never been against the LGBTQ community,” said Nave, who updated the petition. “This has always been about asking why taxpayers’ money is being used to support what many Christians sincerely believe makes a mockery of our faith.”
Attorneys representing the homeowner have been contacted for comment.
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