Overview
- On Monday the landlord, Revelop, formally terminated the lease for Divine Playhouse and gave organisers only days to vacate the heritage church on Kent Street.
- The termination relied on an 'offensive trade' clause that dates to an 1840s public‑health framework and was originally used to control foul smells and industrial nuisances.
- About 70 protesters from Christian groups rallied at the venue’s opening and the landlord issued a breach notice after complaints that programming and imagery insulted Christian beliefs, which intensified scrutiny because the project had a $100,000 Create NSW grant.
- Organisers say the eviction was unlawful, are weighing legal action, have launched a petition and crowdfunding (more than 17,000 signatures and tens of thousands raised) and have planned a peaceful 'sing‑in' for Saturday 25 July while searching for a new space.
- The dispute has raised safety alarms after founder Kat Dopper reported sustained death threats, and lawyers warn that a court decision on this use of 'offensive trade' could set a precedent allowing landlords to remove tenants for moral or religious offence.