A large group of Christians have staged a peaceful protest outside a historic Sydney church now home to an LGBT nightlife venue that hosts live exorcisms.
About 100 demonstrators gathered near the former St John’s Church on Kent Street for the opening night of Unholy Playhouse, a homosexual nightclub fused with a creative and performance arts space that has received taxpayer funding via Create NSW.
The First Rite event will be followed by a comedy night called Two Queers Walk Into A Bar on Thursday, while the first live exorcism show is scheduled for October.
Demonstrators singing: pic.twitter.com/qVc2PqutzN
— The Noticer (@NoticerNews) July 9, 2026
The venue, which the owners describe as an inclusive late-night venue for the LGBT community, sparked anger on social media last month, and protesters turned up on Wednesday to express their opposition to how the 158-year-old deconsecrated Catholic church is being used.
Photos of the demonstration show a crowd, mainly made up of young Catholics, standing with a banner saying “Jesus is King” while many held up rosaries.
Protesters were also filmed singing hymns, and Noticer News understands the demonstration resulted in the venue shutting its doors, and at one point there was a minor scuffle.
Unholy Playhouse will also host a Harry Potter-themed “caba-rave”, live music, DJs, gospel choir-backed karaoke, a late-night cabaret called Holy Flesh, and a weekly “unholy brunch party” event called Sunday Mess, featuring a “drag BBQ” on its first week on July 12.
The description for Thursday night’s event reads: “The Two Queers are back baby! Join that stupid f*ggot Brendan Hancock and his gaggle of gays and deviants for a night of lols.”
Possession, described as “Australia’s first-ever live, full-scale exorcism”, will be held on October 21, and the listing says the atmosphere will be “so untamed, the psychological payload so intense” that attendees will have to sign a legal liability waiver.
Header image: Demonstrators outside the venue (supplied).
