Pop-up performance space UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE set to open on Gadigal Land in early July
The space welcomes 140 artists across multiple disciplines into a 150-year-old deconsecrated church on Kent St in its city’s CBD.
Continuing a trend of heritage-listed spaces transforming into venues, Gadigal Land/Sydney welcomes a new addition to its nightlife roster - albeit temporarily - in the form of UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE.
The performance venue, creative arts space and bar is set to metamorphose a 150-year-old deconsecrated church on Kent St in its city’s CBD, welcoming a wide variety of live music, DJs, performances, karaoke and more.
UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE is the latest endeavour by local promoter Kat Dopper, responsible for Heaps Gay and a previous pop-up experience Pleasures Playhouse, which saw a Chinatown theatre adjacent to Darling Harbour run as a venue for several months in late 2022 and early 2023.
Heaps Gay has become an undeniable force in its city, now regularly collaborating with local government and bigger business on more large-scale events. In February of this year, Heaps Gay was involved in the first iteration of Mighty Hoopla Sydney, coinciding with Mardi Gras 2026.
Originally from London, Mighty Hoopla has been subject to global scrutiny and boycotts as one of the festivals in the portfolio of Superstruct Entertainment and KKR Investments, due to KKR’s investments in military technologies, companies operating on Occupied Palestinian Territories and ownership of the Coastal Gaslink Pipeline.
READ: KKR-owned Mighty Hoopla announces first-ever Australian edition
UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE is set to welcome a wide variety of artists across genres, disciplines and scenes through its doors as of Wednesday, July 8.
That includes the likes of Fredas, Heaps Gay, Kerfew, Music NSW and AM//PM, plus over 140 artists like Noah Hill, RONA., Vv Pete, Mincy, Setwun, DeepFaith, BODY TYPE, Ennaria, Total Tommy, Cult Shotta, Kidskin, Holiday Sidewinder and others.
Of the announcement, Kat Dopper shared:
“Artists and audiences need sacred spaces, places where art, community and human connection can happen outside of our everyday lives. Dancefloors as worship, art as activism and culture as a shared experience.
UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE is for the unpolished, the unique, the quirky and the emerging… artists with something to share. This building has a long history as a meeting place and home for the arts, and UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE is the next chapter in the story of this incredible and iconic building.”
Full programming and information on UNHOLY PLAYHOUSE can be found via its website.
